NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Sitting in the driveway of her condemned home with some of her belongings, Joan is embarrassed.
"I've lost all my animals, my place to live, my dignity," she said. "I had a nosy neighbor that called Animal Control, and they came out, and they went through all my closets and saw the animals. So of course, I was going to hide them."
Animal Control officials retrieved 56 animals in total - 50 cats and 6 dogs.
"I was trying to stop them from going to the pound and getting killed," Joan said.
North Las Vegas Police, Animal Control, and the Animal Foundation say many of the cats found were sick anyway, and Joan was doing more harm than good.
"The most important thing here is that the living conditions of this home were absolutely indescribable," said North Las Vegas Police Officer Chrissie Coon. "It was really important for the safety of the family and the safety of the animals to get everybody relocated."