Kern County Animal control officers say the animals were kept in terrible conditions with no food or water. But Anita Gilbert says that's simply not true. She says she loved and cared for each one of her pets.
"I've had a hard life. I have no family. My pets are like my children," Gilbert said.
Gilbert faces 41 felony counts of animal cruelty after animal control officiers raided her home and found dogs and cats living in what they call an extreme case of neglect. But says she spent four months in treatment for cancer in Florida and paid someone to care for her aminals while she was away. She also says she has only been home ten days and was cleaning up the mess.
Animal control officers say they not only found many neglected pets in her home. but there were also fourteen dead animals in a freezer. Gilbert says she was going to bury the animals in bulk.
Kern County Resources Department chief David Price also tells me code enforcement had to "red tag" Gilbert's house because there was so much animal waste and the air was so bad inside the home.
