Frozen pets found in Ore. middle school freezer
PORTLAND, Ore. - A janitor made a bizarre and grim discovery at a Portland school, and now a volunteer worker there has been dismissed.
The volunteer has been let go after getting caught storing the bodies of her dead pets in a freezer at Ockley Green Middle School in north Portland.
Inside a portable classroom, a janitor found a frozen block of animals - a finding that has put some locals on edge.
"They were frozen into a big block?" said Julie Blakeley of north Portland. "That's really weird."
Authorities say the woman who froze the animals, which included everything from cats to goldfish, was doing it just to keep her pets around.
"What if a kid found it?" said Seth Otto of north Portland. ... "Or the power goes out and it defrosts? Yeah, that's not good."
Inside a freezer in that portable, the woman - who was a long-time volunteer at the school - had apparently stored the bodies of six dead cats, a couple of dead goldfish, a hamster, a gerbil, a lizard and even a spider. All were wrapped up in plastic bags.
The janitor found the frozen animals while cleaning the building in July to get it ready for classrooms again.
The volunteer wasn't cited, because authorities say the animals died naturally.
Oregon has been the site of a number of dead-animal hording cases. As recently as 2009 much more extreme case involved a Washington County woman by the name of Miriam Sakowitz. At one point she kept more than 150 live rabbits - but also stored dozens of dead ones in a freezer.
Psychologist Ron Turco talked about Sakowitz's case in 2009, reporting that he believes many of these cases involve "a medical issue." However, he believes this volunteer who stored her pet's frozen bodies at school isn't so much disturbed or dangerous as just lonely.
"The animals are, in a sense, with her and she takes comfort from them," Turco said. "It's odd. I think it's peculiar. But it's nothing that I would be alarmed about."
The volunteer has been let go after getting caught storing the bodies of her dead pets in a freezer at Ockley Green Middle School in north Portland.
Inside a portable classroom, a janitor found a frozen block of animals - a finding that has put some locals on edge.
"They were frozen into a big block?" said Julie Blakeley of north Portland. "That's really weird."
Authorities say the woman who froze the animals, which included everything from cats to goldfish, was doing it just to keep her pets around.
"What if a kid found it?" said Seth Otto of north Portland. ... "Or the power goes out and it defrosts? Yeah, that's not good."
Inside a freezer in that portable, the woman - who was a long-time volunteer at the school - had apparently stored the bodies of six dead cats, a couple of dead goldfish, a hamster, a gerbil, a lizard and even a spider. All were wrapped up in plastic bags.
The janitor found the frozen animals while cleaning the building in July to get it ready for classrooms again.
The volunteer wasn't cited, because authorities say the animals died naturally.
Oregon has been the site of a number of dead-animal hording cases. As recently as 2009 much more extreme case involved a Washington County woman by the name of Miriam Sakowitz. At one point she kept more than 150 live rabbits - but also stored dozens of dead ones in a freezer.
Psychologist Ron Turco talked about Sakowitz's case in 2009, reporting that he believes many of these cases involve "a medical issue." However, he believes this volunteer who stored her pet's frozen bodies at school isn't so much disturbed or dangerous as just lonely.
"The animals are, in a sense, with her and she takes comfort from them," Turco said. "It's odd. I think it's peculiar. But it's nothing that I would be alarmed about."
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