Sharon McDonough's Home Was An Animal 'Concentration Camp': Son

SELDEN, N.Y. — Authorities are investigating whether any of the more than 20 animal carcasses found in the backyard of a Long Island home are the remains of animals reported missing by pet owners in the area.

Dozens of concerned pet owners have contacted authorities following the gruesome discovery, a scene described by one veteran SPCA official as something out of a horror movie.

In addition to the dead animals, five dogs and a cat were found alive, suffering from maltreatment, inside cramped cages in a room of the house, said Roy Gross, chief of the Suffolk County SPCA.

Sharon McDonough, 43, of Selden, was released without bail following her arrest on Saturday on six counts of animal cruelty involving the dogs and cat. An investigation is proceeding into whether any animals found dead in the woman's backyard had been mistreated; additional charges were possible.

Gross said the SPCA has received "dozens of calls" from pet owners who say their animals went missing in the area. He said the district attorney could file larceny or other charges if the investigation reveals that animals had been stolen.

Prosecutors said McDonough was represented at her arraignment by an attorney from Legal Aid, which has a policy of not commenting on pending cases. She faces up to a year in jail if convicted on the current misdemeanor animal cruelty cases, but could face 2 years in prison if upgraded felony charges are filed, Gross said.

McDonough is due back in court Tuesday.

The dogs and cat found inside McDonough's home were all legitimately purchased, Gross said.

An SPCA officer for nearly 25 years, Gross said the discovery of the animal carcasses was one of the worst scenes he had ever witnessed.

"This is one I probably will never forget," Gross said. "It was like watching a horror film unfold in front of us.

"The sickening smell was sometimes overpowering to our officers and the firefighters."

He confirmed that authorities were alerted to the scene by McDonough's 21-year-old son, Douglas.

"It was a concentration camp for the animals," Douglas McDonough told reporters outside his home on Saturday. It was not immediately clear why McDonough had reported his mother to authorities.

Comments

[endymian]

am i missing something? who is this person? is she famous, a celebrity i don't know about? if so, then good for me, for being so out of it--that i still can't track the majority of names that float around for five minutes at a time in popular culture, even on the section reserved here for such people magazine style reportage.

but if not, then why does an unknown person's crime start with lead headlines beginning with her name as if we were reading that madonna, bette davis, joan crawford, queen elizabeth ll, elizabeth taylor, or any other person geneally knon to the publilc was the subject of this story!

is the need for celeb headlines so strained by the escalating media outlets, that we need to treat crime stories by unkowns with headlines as though they too were celebs.

and all this aside, anyone who mistreats an animal, should do serious prison time, and if i believed in the death penalty, which i don't--i would support it for torturing or murdering animals!

and, why it is legal for pet owners to have vets kill their pet if it is not working out, pisses in the wrong place, barks too much, scratches too much, etc.

shouldn't all the pet owners who do this, or abandon or dump pets when they have decided they don;t want them any longer, also be criminallized. and shouldn;t it be against the law for vets, to have to kill healthy animals.

[jessicajuliette]

WHO FORCES THEIR CHILDREN TO TORTURE ANIMALS???

THIS WRETCHED PIECE OF HUMANITY--HER CRIMES AGAINST HER CHILDREN ARE MOST EGREGIOUS.

[Artemis34]

People who abuse animals abuse people

She should be in jail now.

[jimmyjones22]

Doesn't logically follow, but I agree with your conclusion.

[MuneKItA03]

Actually, Artemis34 I agree with what you are trying to say. I just learned in my WS 224 class that where there is animal abuse in a house hold there is usually domestic violence present as well. So, your logic is not that far off.

[petalpusher]

Um, it does logically follow. Serial killers start out most of the time abusing animals. Domestic abusers are very often animal abusers as well. She also abused her kids- wait and see it all come out. It already has. The fact that she forced her kids to take part in abusing the animals is a form of heavy duty psychological abuse in itself.

[Mercedes]

How sad. Imagine what her children went through, if she did this to the animals in front of them while they were growing up.

I just can't understand why some people have no sense of Compassion and deliberately do this to helpless animals.

Too many horrors go on behind closed doors...

[kitty3363]

She needs to go away for a VERY LONG TIME. Truly EVIL.

[republiscum]

Where is PETA. Oh wait she's not black like Michael Vick otherwise PETA would crucify her.

[purplerain]

exactly! you got that right! A suburban white attractive woman in her 40s - PETA won't even bother mailing a letter- much less anything else. That's why for as much as I love pets, F PETA!!!

[rzan1]

I think this woman will do jail time, but I also think she is mentally ill. Forcing her children to torture animals is unconscionable. I think that PETA has spoken out about her and often about others who torture and kill animals. The reason Michael Vick got so much media attention is that he is a well known personality.

[Progressiveama]

hatred of PETA comes from very well done propaganda of the meat industry....PETA attacks directly those who harm animals, people want to hear of organizations that confront animal abuse but they want it to be done in a pretty way..the way that I feel about humans harming animals is even-Steven. Humans need to get our "mitts" off of animals, no, they are not here for you child's education, no they are not here for entertainment, no they are not here to be eaten or worn, they are here as living beings on this planet who feel pain the way that we do.......the woman would be feeling tremendous fear if I were her judge.....

Her son, he is a HERO!

[rzan1]

Also, read Marina56's comment below about Vick's crime violating federal laws.

[SpaceboySD]

Nice try...(sigh).

Comments like this are not only blatant and pathetic cries for attention from the individual making them, but try to divert our attention from the real issue: animal cruelty.

[Freesia2]

A year in prison. 2 at most. That's pathetic. It's not enough.

I keep thinking of those people calling up who wonder if maybe just maybe that's what happened to their beloved friend. And how awful to find out that yes - he/she ended up with that sick woman. I couldn't bear it if it were me.

Good on the son for reporting her. I just wish it had been sooner.

[jlab]

The last 2 sentences are a beautiful example of fine writing.

"It was a concentration camp for the animals," Douglas McDonough told reporters outside his home on Saturday. It was not immediately clear why McDonough had reported his mother to authorities."

Okay. Maybe not immediately. But after careful scrutiny of his statement, the one about the place being "a concentration camp for animals", one might conclude that there's possibly a clue hidden in there somewhere.

It is at least conceivable that Douglas McDonough did not think of a concentration camp for animals necessarily as a good thing. He might even have reached a point at which he thought he should do something about it. That is complete speculation on my part, obviously.

With more research, this mystery concerning the son's behavior might yet get solved one day.

[Marina56]

Snort. Well put.

[rzan1]

Harm an animal, go to jail!

[Progressiveama]

for a LONG time..........LONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG

[BlackYowe]

I thought she was just a sick hoarder but it seems she also tortured animals so maybe she should get thrown to the wolves:

http://wcbstv.com/local/pet.concentration.camp.2.1300163.html

[lmvd3]

Thank you, Douglas McDonough, for doing the moral, ethical and right thing, in very difficult circumstances.

[Marina56]

Agreed.

[ProudMilVet]

This Nation is becoming Sicker by the day ! Not a week goes by that we don't hear of several mass shootings, suicides, Children being abducted, Raped & Murdered, Dog fighting rings, Animals being tortured & Killed . It's like Mass Hysteria or Psychosis !

[empiricalWeb]

These things aren't new, they are just getting better exposure.

[Marina56]

The son says she forced his sisters to torture the animals. She has lost custody of her children, at least for the time being. http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/selden-woman-in-animal-cruelty-case-loses-custody-of-kids-1.1578399 It sounds as though she's even worse than Vick: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/backyard+described+concentration+camp+after+remains+found/2207492/story.html


However, Vick violated federal laws as well as state laws, which is why he was able to be prosecuted in both federal court and state court. That is not the case here; but I would certainly hope and I do anticipate that the charges against her will be upgraded to include felony charges.

[MeasleeMillion]

Yeah, I should say so.

How exactly is this less of a crimethan what mike vick(and his many partners) did?

[Marina56]

I didn't say it was less of a crime, just that Vick violated federal laws as well as state laws. Federal laws deal with interstate matters, among other issues, and Vick ran afoul of the interstate gambling laws, if I remember correctly, as well as traveling across state lines in pursuit of a criminal enterprise. The dog fighting, by itself, was a state charge.

If this woman had crossed state lines, stealing and transporting stolen dogs, she might be subject to a federal charge. However, animal abuse and child abuse, by themselves, are state, not federal, matters.

[fphp]

crimes against animals (by adults) should be an instant felony. There are higher issues at play. The mindset these people have that makes it okay for them to torture a lesser species is very dangerous to us as a species.

[TigersEye]

I agree.

[Progressiveama]

harming an animal in its own rite is enough for me...........give them REAL sentences.........predators who rape women get little time in jail and so do animal abusers...it seems to me that things are upside down

[mlr710]

ohhhhhhhhhhhh.....she's "sick".......of course.

[TXfemmom]

Actually, people who torture animals generally have no conscience, which although it has a psychiatric rating, is not a psychiatric disorder because there is absolutely no cure for it. They are just EVIL and it is time for this country to begin to understand EVIL.

[Progressiveama]

and to punish is with REAL sentences!