‘Smell of Death’ in Hotel Prompts Investigation of Shocking Animal Hoarding Situation

Last month, we reported on a disturbing hoarding situation after a couple was stopped for a broken tail light. Police discovered "51 guinea pigs and 11 rabbits, all lifeless, scattered throughout the car. The tragic reality of animal abuse unfolded further as authorities learned that the couple had even more animals at their residence and a nearby hotel."

New details and photos of the extreme hoarding situation at Timothy Miller and Carolyn Luke's residence and an unnamed hotel have been released. Luke says they were on their way to give a friend multiple guinea pigs they could no longer care for anymore when they were stopped by police.

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The unnamed hotel in Las Vegas was forced to evict the couple after receiving complaints from guests that they were keeping animals in their room and the 'smell of death' coming from the room. According to WAFB, 39 guinea pigs, 1 rabbit, 2 hamsters, 21 live dogs and 12 dead dogs were found just in the hotel room. Luke said in a taped interview that the dogs were being kept in bags until they could either bury or cremate them. However, no attempts or visits to the vet to cure the sick dogs were made.

Miller made the hotel reservation for March 28th to March 30th after Luke's neighbor had issues with her because of the excess number of animals at their home. Luke admitted to taking animals from her home to the hotel to 'hide them from neighbors and animal control officers'.

Luke admitted that she did not let animal control officers into her home because she knew she had too many animals and wanted to clean up before they came inside.

A large variety of animals were discovered in the home, everything from dogs to turtles were being kept in inhumane conditions.

Read More: Police Find 62 Deceased Animals in Vehicle During Traffic Stop | 

According to WAFB, Las Vegas City Animal Control, and Boulder, police discovered dogs living in their feces, unkept aquariums, bird cages, and hamster enclosures. Disturbingly, officers' complained that their lungs burned and their eyes watered from the overwhelming smell of ammonia.

Both times, Luke was asked by authorities whether or not they would find any deceased animals during the initial traffic stop, and then before the investigator the two other locations, she explained that they would not because they were 'her babies,' and they took good care of all of them.

Timothy Miller and Carolyn Luke each face 14 counts of willful and malicious torture of an animal.