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Sep 12, 2006 5:49 pm US/Eastern
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Animal Hoarder Claims Mental Disorder In Court
by Derek Valcourt
WHITEFORD, Md. (WJZ) ―
The woman accused of abusing more than 100 dogs in her two Whiteford homes went before a Harford County judge this morning as her lawyer argued that a mental disorder is really to blame for the crime.
Donna Bell, 59, was arrested in May when police raided her ranch and found over 70 malnourished dogs and cats living in deplorable conditions. The bodies and skeletal remains of over 40 dogs were also found inside the two homes. Bell was charged with more than 118 counts of animal cruelty.
Bell's actions are known as "animal hoarding," a mental problem in which a person rescues an abundance of animals, but does not have the supplies needed to take care of each animal. Regardless, the person believes they're actually helping the animals nonetheless.
Bell's lawyer says she had to pay tens of thousands of dollars to demolish two of the buildings the animals were housed in, and says she's already undergoing treatment for the mental disorder commonly blamed for many cases of animal hoarding.
"Because of the obsessive compulsive disorder, she couldn't say no to people. So if some animal rescue group contacted her and asked her to take in a couple more animals, her apprehension was that if she said 'no I've got too many already,' that those animals would be put to death," defense attorney Leonard Shapiro told
WJZ's Derek Valcourt. "And that overcame her ability to perceive that there came a point where she was out of control and she couldn't take care of that many animals."
In court today, a judge ordered Bell to undergo a mental evaluation. Animal rescuers say they're coming to court to make sure she gets punished.
"Bell behind bars -- that's what I want to see. She need to be behind bars, we're talking hundreds of animals," animal rescuer Melody Baker said.
As for the surviving animals, nearly all have been adopted out by the Harford County Humane Society.
Bell's lawyer says it could take several months before the mental health evaluation report is completed. He says she does recognize she needs psychiatric help.
Bell remains free after posting bail in May.
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