Animal Advocacy Animal rights activist an apparent suicide, found dead in car with dozens of dogs

[Amy SF]

Animal rights activist an apparent suicide, found dead in car with dozens of dogs
By George Chidi
Saturday, November 9, 2013 17:03 EST

Police in an affluent Cleveland-area suburb identified a woman found dead in her car with dozens of dead dogs as a long-time animal rights activist.

Moreland Hills police found Sandra Lertzman, 62, dead Monday in her running car, surrounded in her garage by 31 of her dogs, many of them puppies, WIOI 19 Action News reported Friday. Detectives found prescription vials in the car and a suicide note inside the house.

Police told the news that on puppy managed to survive by finding a corner of the garage to breath, implying that the other animals died by asphyxiation.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/...uicide-found-dead-in-car-with-dozens-of-dogs/

This is so terribly sad.

 

[thefadedone]

There's got to be a lot more to this story.

 

[Moll Flanders]

 

[shyvas]

Just awful.

 

[RascalsMom]

That's so sad. Those poor dogs. I can't imagine an animal lover killing 31 dogs. What kind of state was she in to decide to do this?

 

[shyvas]

That's so sad. Those poor dogs. I can't imagine an animal lover killing 31 dogs. What kind of state was she in to decide to do this?

Yes, there is more to this tragic story than meets the eye.

 

[ledboots]

Yes, there is more to this tragic story than meets the eye.

My guess is she lost her home to foreclosure like so many Americans have in recent years, and she probably figured it would be a more painless and less traumatic way for the dogs to die than in a shelter. So very very sad that the woman didn't find a solution that wasn't that one.

 

[shyvas]

My guess is she lost her home to foreclosure like so many Americans have in recent years, and she probably figured it would be a more painless and less traumatic way for the dogs to die than in a shelter. So very very sad that the woman didn't find a solution that wasn't that one.

If it is true, it is so sad. Those poor animals had no say in the matter.

 

[RascalsMom]

My guess is she lost her home to foreclosure like so many Americans have in recent years, and she probably figured it would be a more painless and less traumatic way for the dogs to die than in a shelter. So very very sad that the woman didn't find a solution that wasn't that one.

Do you have anything to back this up, or just a wild guess?

 

[ledboots]

Do you have anything to back this up, or just a wild guess?

Wild guess. I can't think of any other reason she would feel that desperate.

 

[RascalsMom]

Wild guess. I can't think of any other reason she would feel that desperate.

I wonder if all those dogs were living with her? That doesn't sound like a good situation to begin with.

 

[thefadedone]

I find the whole story sketchy. The article is so vague and lacking of details. The story doesn't make sense. I realize when you are in a suicidal state of mind you are not thinking rationally, but like you mentioned RascalsMom, why were there 31 dogs in the house? Did she just get done rescuing them from somewhere or did she have them living with her for awhile? She spent her life rescuing animals from dire situations and then she goes and puts them in that situation herself?

 

[Calliegirl]

A lot of people who are activist/rescuers are hoarders themselves. They can see others as hoarders but not themselves. She also had 20 cats, 51 animals total. If she killed the animals because she was afraid of what would happen to them (as has been suggested), that is typical of how hoarders think. No one can take better care of the animals then they can, even though they aren't giving them proper care to begin with.

http://www.wkyc.com/story/news/loca...ts-foundation-animals-killed-suicide/3479001/

 

[ledboots]

An woman I know who is working in a small no kill shelter says that people abandon their pets at her house often, so she has to find somewhere for them. They often stay with her until she can.

 

[thefadedone]

That's so sad.

 

[KLS52]

This is tragic.