A Tehachapi woman living with more than 200 dogs may be forced to move again.
Kimi Peck moved into a home on 20 acres in Cummings Valley, once occupied by accused animal hoarder Anita Gilbert. Now the property has fallen into foreclosure.
It was set to be auctioned Monday morning on the steps of Bakersfield City Hall.
"Well, I knew it was coming,'' Peck said. ''I just didn't know how soon. That's just how my life is these days.''
"Let's just hope someone steps up and helps. Let's hope somebody gives a damn about these animals."
The home auction has been delayed until Dec. 2, giving Peck and her helpers one month of additional breathing room.
"I think it's all lies," said 20-year-old dog helper Brandi Linch. "If she were a hoarder I would not be here."
Peck's accountant, Susan Marlowe, bought the home years ago and Peck says she was supposed to move in before Gudger got there.
"The next thing I know she moves this woman, whose real name I don't know, with a lot of cats," Peck said. "So that eliminated the possibility of me moving over here."
Peck's trouble began while living on a nearby, 23-acre Tehachapi home where neighbors complained of wafting smells and loud barking.
Code compliance officers inspected the home and determined Peck needed a conditional use permit that would qualify her for running a kennel on the property.
Peck failed to meet a compliance deadline to obtain the permit and county supervisors fined her $5,000 in March.
Peck said she ran onto financial hard times and was unable to make mortgage payments, sending her to the home owned by Marlowe.
Peck blames the controversy swirling around her on Marlowe's ex-husband, Los Angeles real estate developer Michael Goland, who Peck says is trying to sabotage her dog-rescuing efforts.
It's a claim Goland adamantly denied in a telephone interview in June.
But Peck's problems with the county continue. Animal Control officials fined her for failing to license and vaccinate the 200 dogs living with her. Peck said she welcomed the tickets because she wants to take her battle to court.
"I hope this whole county is happy with what they have done to a well-meaning, wonderful individual who gave up her life to help a bunch of dogs that nobody wanted," Peck said. "That's the bottom line."
