GREENBRIER, AR –-
The howls and the barks bring on sympathy for ninety-five dogs and three cats leaving their homes to go with complete strangers.But those are the lucky ones.
Forty-one of their family members lie dead right among the ashes of a mobile home.
"I've done rescues for years and years. It never ceases to amaze me," said Lesley Cobb with Wishing Well for Paws.
Firefighters thought Jesse and Patricia Baldridge once lived in the charred mobile home, but it's where they kept some of their pets. Right now, they believe a wood-burning stove caused the fire.
"I like animals. I try to keep my feelings in tact but it's hard," said Sergeant David Hill with the Faulkner County Sheriff's Department.
Hill said he has no record of getting a complaint call about all the animals, and right now, he doesn't know if the couple will be charged. We didn't get a chance to talk to the Baldridge couple, but rescuers say the husband is suffering from cancer and the wife is suffering from a mental illness.
"Hoarding is a mental illness. She's become attached to the dogs and doesn't want to relinquish them," Cobb said.
Investigators said it's best if the animals go to shelters until a judge decides what happens next, even if the owners are attached.
"If it were not for this fire, the dogs would still be here roaming around?" I asked investigators.
"Yes, as they were yesterday," said Sgt. Hill.
