More Than 100 Frozen Cats and Dogs Found in Man’s Home

A 61-year-old man was charged with felony animal cruelty after an inspector found more than 100 dead dogs and cats stuffed in freezers on his property.

Authorities said 12 live dogs and 22 live cats, in varying degrees of health, were also seized during the May 7 inspection at the house of Lawrence Bruce Lubers in Homeland, a hamlet five miles west of Hemet on Highway 74.

Animal control officer Randy Grissom said he felt sick several times during the inspection and had to stop working to compose himself. His report describes a foul-smelling home littered with trash and animal feces.

Some animal cages were stacked on top of one another, he wrote. One cat’s eye protruded from its socket.

The cats and seven dogs were euthanized for fear they would spread disease to other animals in a shelter, authorities said.

The dead animals--87 cats and 23 dogs--were found in three freezers in the home and on the back patio. Investigators could not determine how they died, Deputy Dist. Atty. Judith Clark said.

Lubers, who was not arrested, previously said they died of diseases over a long period of time and he could not bring himself to bury them.

Authorities said arraignment would likely be scheduled later this month.