A Florida woman has finally been reunited with her missing cat, seven months after he allegedly disappeared and was later found inside a dilapidated hoarder home crowded with nearly 100 animals.
Linh Nguyen, who lives in Stuart, broke down in tears Wednesday as she held her beloved cat, Patchy, at the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast — the first time she had seen him since he vanished in January.
Patchy was one of 80 cats and 12 dogs rescued two days earlier from the home of 77-year-old U.S. Postal Service worker Gail Giustino, WPEC News reported.
‘I feel like I got back a family member. It’s like a child to me. Seven months,’ Nguyen told the outlet. ‘I lost all my hope. I didn’t expect to ever see him again.’
Speaking through emotion in a separate interview with WFLX News, she said Patchy had been part of her life for years. ‘I’ve had him for seven years, since he was a kitten, and he’s like my baby,’ Nguyen said.
‘I cried so much when I lost him. There were so many nights when I couldn’t sleep, thinking that he might be somewhere getting abused.’
The long-awaited reunion followed an announcement Monday by Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek, who said deputies had discovered nearly 100 animals packed into Giustino’s home on the 11500 block of Southwest Meadowlark Circle.
‘Clearly this is a hoarder scenario,’ Budensiek said, calling it the worst animal hoarding case Martin County had ever encountered.
Linh Nguyen, of Stuart, Florida, was reunited with her cat, Patchy, seven months after he was allegedly snatched by a neighborhood mail carrier
Patchy was among 80 cats and 12 dogs rescued days earlier from the home of US Postal Service worker Gail Giustino, 77
The discovery led to Giustino’s arrest on charges of animal cruelty and confining animals without sufficient food or water
Investigators found that she had been ‘collecting’ cats, but the sheriff said many of the animals were not feral at all
Investigators alleged that Giustino had been ‘collecting’ cats. The sheriff said many of the animals were friendly house cats ‘that you can pet and are used to having a lot of attention.’
‘It looks like, on her mail route, she would identify cats that were loose, come back with traps, trap the cats and then bring them home,’ Budensiek said.
Speaking about the suspect, he added: ‘In her mind – she told us that she thought she was doing, you know, the world a favor by taking these cats in.’
The discovery led to her arrest on charges of animal cruelty and confining animals without sufficient food or water. The animals, who the sheriff said were living in ‘squalor’ and ‘horrific’ conditions, were seized by authorities.
‘The goal of arresting her was to be able to seize the animals to save them from death,’ the sheriff said. ‘We could have charged her with 160 counts, two counts per animal. We’re only charging with two counts.’
Nguyen joined several other pet owners at the Humane Society on Wednesday, hoping one of the rescued animals was the pet they had been desperately searching for.
‘I was praying to God, asking for a miracle. On Monday night, when I saw the news I had a very strong feeling that my cat was one of the 80 cats that was found,’ she told WPEC.
‘I think it’s unbelievable. I asked for a miracle and this is really a miracle for me and my family.’
Nguyen joined other pet owners at the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast on Wednesday, where she saw her cat for the first time since January
The sheriff said the animals were living in ‘100 plus degree heat,’ with ‘no proper food and water, no ventilation’ and ‘standing on top of six inches of feces’
Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said the discovery is the worst animal hoarding case the county had ever seen
Photos show the scene authorities described as ‘squalor’ and ‘horrific’
Almost 100 animals were kept in the squalid conditions in the ‘hoarder house’
Others in the community are now questioning whether Giustino may have been behind the mysterious disappearances of their pets. Megan Remick, who lives nearby, said her cat Savannah vanished three years ago.
‘I saw one of the rescuers, animal control officers bring out a cage with a tiny white cat in it,’ Remick told KPTV News.
‘I know there are other white cats in the world, but man, something just hit me and just the thought that she could have been sitting in that filth, not being able to breathe in a cage for three years, is just absolutely horrifying,’ she added.
Shannon, another neighbor whose cat Tux went missing two weeks ago, said: ‘I didn’t really even know about the news story until about two random people called me and said, “You live next to Sunshine Mobile Homes, right? The mail lady got arrested.”‘
‘I looked on the news and saw a video of one of the tuxedo cats inside of the cage that they were taking out of the house, and I’m very hopeful that it’s my cat and I’m really hoping to be reunited with my cat,’ she added.
Eight of the rescued animals were microchipped, allowing investigators to trace them back to their owners. Ahead of Wednesday’s reunion, deputies had already reunited at least five of the animals with their families.
‘We saved at least 92 animals from a living hell,’ Sheriff Budensiek said. ‘They’re in there in 100 plus degree heat, no proper food and water, no ventilation. Standing on top of six inches of feces.’
‘If we had not have acted and taken this seriously and forced our way into that house, all these animals would still be out there being essentially tortured to death,’ he added.
A HAZMAT team was called to the scene before crews could continue the rescue
Images show crews carrying carrier after carrier out of the property
The sheriff said Giustino spent a week refusing to cooperate or reveal how many animals were inside the home
Authorities were first alerted by a report that a female postal worker was ‘stealing or collecting cats along her route,’ sending investigators to Giustino’s home.
The sheriff said she spent a week refusing to cooperate or reveal how many animals were inside the home. Her lack of transparency ultimately led investigators to execute a search warrant on Monday.
Police, animal control officers and firefighters removed 92 animals from the home, with chilling bodycam footage showing crews carrying carrier after carrier out of the property.
Because of the ‘severe conditions’ inside the home – including poor ventilation and floors covered in animal waste – a HAZMAT team was called to the scene before crews could continue the rescue.
Humane Society staff said many of the rescued animals arrived underweight and suffering from a host of health problems, including skin conditions, hair loss and dental disease, according to WPEC.
‘It’s really sad. It’s really, really sad,’ Lori Tucker, Director of Operations at the Humane Society, told the outlet.
‘But at the same time, we are very fortunate that we are in this role, when we love what we do, and so we feel like we’re going to put that aside, and we’re going to focus on giving these animals a fresh start, you know, a new chance at a happy life.’
The rescued animals are now recovering, where they will need vaccinations, spay or neuter procedures and medical clearance before they can be adopted into new homes.
Budensiek revealed that this was not Giustino’s first encounter with authorities, saying she had received ‘up to 65 citations’ in previous years
Ahead of Wednesday’s reunion, deputies had already reunited at least five of the animals with their families
Eight of the rescued animals found in the home were microchipped, allowing investigators to trace them back to their owners
Budensiek also revealed that this was not Giustino’s first encounter with authorities, saying she had received ‘up to 65 citations’ in previous years for confining various animals inside her home.
He said he hopes the court process will help connect her with the support she needs.
‘What we want to happen is that she doesn’t get animals back, or she can only have one or two,’ the sheriff said. ‘And then we want her to go through the mental health court process to get her some kind of an evaluation and see where she is.’
The sheriff’s office said it is now investigating whether any of the rescued animals belonged to other families and urged anyone with a missing pet to come forward and file a report.
