Why animal hoarders LOVE Kern County! Most never get caught and when they do…it’s a slap on the wrist – if that…

Kern released animals to woman now accused of cruelty By JAMES BURGER | Monday, Aug 02 2010 05:39 PM Last Updated Monday, Aug 02 2010 05:39 PM Californian staff writer jburger@bakersfield.com Kern County Animal Control apparently released more than 150 animals to a woman who later was accused of animal cruelty in Tulare County. "We’re hoping that they aren’t the ones they have found deceased," said animal control Director Guy Shaw. It was a tip from Kern County that led Tulare County Animal Control to the remote, rural home where last week it found 140 animals living without basic needs and a dozen animals that had died, the Visalia Times-Delta reported. Though the bad situation was discovered quickly, Shaw said, "I wish we identified it a little sooner." Shaw said his staff had an uneasy feeling about Linda Baker-Corsiglia when the Tulare County woman began rescuing animals from the county’s Bakersfield animal shelter at the beginning of June. Baker-Corsiglia was pulling a lot of animals — cats with litters of kittens and dogs with litters of puppies — using the non-profit number of a Santa Rosa animal rescue group called Countryside Rescue, Shaw said. She pulled from the shelter every week, he said. Shaw’s staff didn’t get a professional vibe from Baker-Corsiglia. Kern County has a list of 140 rescue groups that can pull from county shelters and rescue coordinators and transporters for about 50 or 60 shelters that take animals regularly, Shaw said. Shaw said county animal care workers spend a lot of time helping rescue groups pull animals, get them ready for transport and get them into rescue vehicles for the trip to a new home. Staff let Shaw know something felt wrong about Baker-Corsiglia. Shaw called the president of Countryside Rescue. Looking back, Shaw said, he wished he’d called Tulare County Animal Control first. But he gave Countryside the benefit of the doubt. The group president told Shaw everything was great with Baker-Corsiglia. She had a nice big 10-acre property in Strathmore for the animals and could handle the numbers she was taking. July came around and Baker-Corsiglia continued to pull more and more animals. Kern County Animal Control staff remained concerned. So Shaw called Tulare County Animal Control. The Visalia Times-Delta reported that Tulare County sheriff’s deputies searched Baker-Corsiglia’s property on Road 124 at 1:30 p.m. Thursday after Tulare County animal control officers saw animal carcasses on the property, a horse with no food or water and other animals that were fighting or showing signs of neglect. Animals removed from the residence included dogs, cats, ducks, parakeets, *censored*atiels, a chinchilla and a rooster, the newspaper reported. Baker-Corsiglia was arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty and child endangerment, the Times-Delta reported, and a 16-year-old juvenile was taken into protective custody. The situation in Tulare illustrates the difficulty faced by Kern County animal control officials who are tasked with collecting unwanted animals but also trying to reduce the number of those animals they must regularly euthanize. "We’re caught in between," Shaw said. Several years ago, Kern County was sued for not working with rescues and for euthanizing animals early. So it has pursued working with rescue groups more aggressively. And in recent years, rescue groups have taken thousands of unwanted animals out of the county shelter before they can be euthanized. But the county runs the risk, Shaw said, of inadvertently releasing animals to people who will not care for them properly. So Kern Country tries to be as aggressive as it can — with limited resources and staff — about finding problems with rescue groups. Shaw said Kern County will not allow anyone affiliated with Countryside Rescue to pull animals from county shelters while it further investigates the relationship between it and Baker-Corsiglia. Phone calls to Countryside Rescue were not answered Monday. The group’s website says it’s closed on