Maui woman who kept 96 pets gets 30 days in jail
By Christie Wilson
Neighbor Island Editor
WAILUKU, Maui — Marilyn Jean Bermudez owned 96 dogs and cats and had a name for every one of them.
She limited her work hours at a neighborhood store so she could spend more time caring for the animals at her modest three-bedroom Ha'iku home, and used her entire paycheck to buy pet food, even if it meant going without meals herself.
BERMUDEZ
But the situation got out of control, and Bermudez's West Lelehuna Place house became a dark pit of animal waste and filth that one Maui Humane Society official described as a "dungeon of horrors."
All but seven of the 81 dogs and 14 cats removed from her home Jan. 4, 2002, were euthanized because of poor health, aggressive behavior or lack of space at the Maui Humane Society animal shelter. Another dog was found dead in the house, apparently from a mauling.
Yesterday, Maui District Judge Rhonda Loo sentenced the 59-year-old Bermudez to 30 days in jail for animal cruelty, for failing to provide her pets with adequate food, space and clean living conditions.
"I have no doubt in my mind that you loved every single one of these dogs and cats. But I have to balance the meows and barks I can no longer hear because these dogs and cats are no longer with us," Loo said during sentencing yesterday.
While some people collect Beanie Babies, coins or stamps, Loo said it was obvious Bermudez was "addicted to collecting animals."
"Sometimes, when a person loves too much, love turns to obsession" and ultimately tragedy, the judge said.
When Bermudez called the humane society for help with dogs fighting, animal control officers found the house filled with feces and urine, said Deputy Prosecutor Mark Simonds. Dog waste was piled high against the exterior walls of the house, where it had been dumped out of windows, he said. The cats were kept in kitchen cabinets converted to cages.
Bermudez and husband Timothy Bermudez were each charged with 85 counts of animal cruelty, a misdemeanor. Marilyn Jean Bermudez pleaded no-contest in April to 20 charges in exchange for dismissal of the other 65 counts. Timothy Bermudez was acquitted of all 85 counts in a June trial when Loo ruled that the prosecutor had failed to connect properly individual animals to cruelty charges.
Defense attorney David Sereno said yesterday that unlike the recent case in which a Hawai'i Kai woman was accused of running a puppy mill, the Maui woman was not out to make money. "She was doing it for love, as misplaced as that was," he said.
Public vilification and guilt over the death of her pets has been punishment enough, Sereno said. "People think of her as a horrible witch ... that's not who she is." Jail time is unnecessary, Sereno said, because Bermudez has learned that she can keep only a few animals at a time and must have her pets neutered.
With court permission, Bermudez has been allowed to keep three dogs and three cats, monitored weekly for the past year by the Maui Humane Society.
Sereno asked for a year of probation, continued inspections and the chance for Bermudez to get counseling. He presented a letter from social worker Jeanette Evans, who interviewed Bermudez and said the woman had some "serious mental health issues."
Because of apparent abuse and other experiences, Bermudez finds it difficult "to trust or rely on people, and feels most comfortable around dogs," Evans' letter said. "She clearly has turned to animals for support and protection."
Simonds said Bermudez fits the profile of an "animal hoarder" who is incapable of recognizing when she is no longer able to care adequately for her pets. Since animal hoarders have a high likelihood of repeating their behavior, he said jail time was needed to reinforce the lesson.
Simonds said Bermudez's inability to control her pets had affected a nearby elementary school and neighbors, who complained for years about loose dogs, incessant barking and foul odors. Bermudez was cited several times for leash law violations.
Responding to the judge's request for comments before sentencing, Maui Humane Society animal control supervisor Aimee Anderson said: "The animals need some kind of justice for what they were forced to endure."
Bermudez told the judge, "I had humanity and compassion for my pets, and I miss them very much. I will never do it again."
Loo said a jail term was the only way to prevent the situation from recurring. She suspended 60 days of a 90-day sentence, allowing Bermudez to serve the jail time on 15 consecutive weekends, and placed her on a year of probation.
Bermudez also was ordered to undergo a mental health assessment and to submit to inspections as the Humane Society sees fit.
Contact Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.
