An Arizona woman was taken into custody Monday after police discovered she was hoarding more than 100 animals at her home.
Zebras, alpacas and miniature horses are just some of the wild animals Maricopa County Sheriffs deputies found roaming around the home of 61-year-old Andrea Rene Mikkel in New River, AZFamily reported.
Deputies said it's one of the worst hoarding cases they have ever seen.
@MaricopaSheriff @RealSheriffJoe says more than 100 alpaca, horses, pigs, roosters, 2 zebra. pic.twitter.com/Tf9go3hbqG
— Jonathan Lowe (@JLoweCBS5) January 5, 2015
"The house is completely covered in feces," sheriff's spokesman Deputy Joaquin Enriquez told AZFamily. "There's rabbits, there's dogs, there's cats, there's chickens, roosters.
"There's so any animals inside the house."
County deputies were alerted to the mass hoarding after receiving complaints from neighbors about the noise and smell. When police first arrived, Mikkel refused to let them in, so they obtained a search warrant and returned to find the makeshift farm.
Many animals were left without water and were in desperate need of medical attention.
"They need to be cared for as far as their hooves and obviously they haven't been properly taken care of so that's the concern right now," Enriquez told AZFamily.
#MCSO tells the exotic animals had free reign of the house, even where the owner slept. House is covered in feces. pic.twitter.com/SPWiDAfOtE — Jonathan Lowe (@JLoweCBS5) January 6, 2015
It's not clear how Mikkel got a hold of the 16 cats, 15 birds, 11 dogs, turkeys, sheep, chickens, rabbit and pig. Images from the scene showed cages and stables where the animals were kept around Mikkel's property. Police said the animals were examined and will be taken to the Tent City jail.
The zebras will later be removed by wildlife experts due to their aggressive nature.
Lots of horses. I asked a next door how many animals he thought were here. Said: "I can't count that high." @CBS5AZ pic.twitter.com/i3CQJG6ukU
— Jonathan Lowe (@JLoweCBS5) January 5, 2015
Mikkel, who has a history with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, was taken into custody. But during questioning Monday night she popped off the aluminum tab from a soda can and swallowed it. She was sent to the hospital after the tab lodged in her throat.
Enriquez said she tried killing herself to avoid being arrested. She could face felony charges for the alleged animal cruelty.
