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'I Was Overwhelmed,' Woman Says Of Squalid Home Where 2 Died

DAVE KRAUT / News Channel 8

A mixed breed puppy that was recovered from a home in Hudson is now getting care at Pasco County Animal Services.

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By LISA A. DAVIS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 15, 2007

Updated: 11/15/2007 04:46 pm

Photo Gallery From The Scene

HUDSON - A day after three dozen dogs were removed from a Viva Villas home, the front door was left open, revealing a peek of the squalid conditions inside where until recently a trio of women lived.

Flies flew in and out of the door that had to be forced open Wednesday by deputies because it was stuck from dog feces piled up inside. A carpet of the waste several inches thick blanketed at least the front room, used as a dining room.

What appeared to be a computer set next to the door was covered in feces, as was the dining room table and chairs, and a soot-like substance spotted the chandelier above.

The stench this afternoon caused eyes to water.

Deputies were called to the home Wednesday morning and found the body of 65-year-old Linda Lesack in the backyard. An autopsy was supposed to be completed Thursday but results had not been released by evening. There were no signs of foul play but the investigation into her death continues, Pasco County Sheriff's Office spokesman Doug Tobin said.

On Nov. 6, another 65-year-old woman died at the home. Lois Marie Lombardi's body was found in a lawn chair outside. A doctor signed her death certificate because she had numerous medical conditions and recently had been hospitalized for pneumonia, Tobin said. An autopsy was not done in that case.

On both days, the homeowner, Diane Lombardi, Lois Lombardi's sister, refused to let deputies in the house. Because deputies noticed a large number of dogs at the home, they notified the Department of Children and Families.

Deputies have visited the home several times this year for neighbor complaints or and to check on the occupants' welfare. Each time, Diane Lombardi refused to let them into her home. Wednesday, deputies insisted and 58-year-old Lombardi signed a search waiver, Tobin said.

"We just wanted to make sure there was nobody else in the house," Tobin said. "Once we were inside, we saw the conditions were quite deplorable."

Pasco Animal Services, the county's building inspector and hazardous materials unit went to the home at 16034 Frost Drive.

Sheriff's forensics investigators tried to assess the situation, but the conditions in the house were overwhelming even with their protective gear, Tobin said.

Investigators learned the house across the street had been owned by the Lombardi sisters' father but he died last year. They found several dogs in that house and similar conditions. Diane Lombardi owns both homes. A total of 43 dogs were taken into protective custody by Animal Services.

"The majority of them are in poor condition," said Denise Hilton, Animal Services manager.

Hilton said her agency is seeking custody of the animals and that she's referring the case to the Pasco-Pinellas State Attorney's Office recommending Lombardi be charged with animal cruelty.

Most of the dogs are unsocialized, she said, and many are malnourished. She said it was unclear whether they hadn't been well fed or had parasites. They are testing the animals for ailments. None had been destroyed as of Thursday afternoon.

'I Got Overwhelmed'

Diane Lombardi was staying with her daughter Thursday.

"I got overwhelmed because I love animals," she said in a telephone interview. "I was afraid animal control would kill them."

It started with one dog about 10 years ago, she said, when she began caring for her adult daughter's pet. Then a second came along and another and the breeding began. One litter would breed with the next litter, Lombardi said.

"They got a little rowdy and it got to the point I couldn't handle it," she said.

Lombardi said she took care of both women who shared her house. During the summer her sister, Lois, who had cerebral palsy and other disorders, was hospitalized for pneumonia and that's when conditions at the home went from bad to worse.

The dogs "just destroyed the house; I would go to the hospital all day," said Lombardi, who is on medical disability. "…It became so embarrassing,"

Until recently, she said, most of the dogs were kept in her father's house but to ease caring for the two women, she put most of the dogs in one location. When her sister came home from the hospital, conditions in the house forced the two sisters to move into the garage where they had a freezer, a cook top, microwave, television and other household items.

Meanwhile, Lesack became less mobile, Lombardi said. The woman had emphysema and a heart condition and mostly stayed with her three cats in her bedroom suite, which had a bathroom. Lombardi said she was afraid to let Lesack venture outside the room because she didn't want the dogs knocking her down. Lombardi would check on Lesack daily through a back window and slip her meals through it. When either one of them or their errand runner, Scott Jones, 26, had to go in and out of the house, they'd go in through a window, she said.

Jones helped her take Lesack's body out of the window and into the back yard Wednesday morning where she tried to perform CPR, Lombardi said.

Lombardi insisted she did the best she could with the dogs, feeding them daily by pouring a full bag of food on the floor but that she couldn't afford to provide them medical care.

She said she wants four of the dogs back, especially Suzy, a beagle mix she's had for nine years.

She said she's trying now to figure out where she's going to live. If her house isn't condemned, she'd like to return.

"I'll live back in the garage," she said.

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