Menagerie of Rescued Animals Grows

By Anne La Jeunesse

And then there were 44.

Just two days after being rescued with 41 other animals from a squalid trailer on Mother's Day, a goat gave birth to two kids at the Santa Monica Humane Department.

The doe is expected to deliver more kids, and another is about to give birth, said Santa Monica Police Lt. Gary F. Gallinot.

He said he did not believe the kids had been given names.

"If she had delivered in the trailer, the kids would have been trampled to death," Gallinot said.

The increasing menagerie of rescued animals being cared for by humane department workers and local veterinarians now includes 13 sheep, 17 goats and the two kids, 10 ponies, one burro and a German shepherd, Gallinot said.

Police responding to reports of moaning sounds emanating from two large trailers parked in the 500 block of Ocean Park Boulevard on Sunday found the animals crammed together inside, without food or water and standing in their feces. A dead goat was also found in the trailer, Gallinot said.

"Most of the animals are malnourished or have been overfed," Gallinot said.

The injured and diseased animals have been separated from the others, and one gravely ill goat has been quarantined, he said.

All of the ponies have neglected dental problems and all of the sheep suffer from not having been sheared, Gallinot said.

The animals' owner, Kathleen Marie Stone, 43, of Lancaster, who operated a pony-ride concession at the Main Street Farmer's Market, was arrested on suspicion of animal neglect about 1:25 p.m. Sunday, and was released on $5,000 bail about six hours later, Gallinot said.