The State - News from Nov. 18, 1985

The leader of an animal rights group and her parents were arrested when 175 dogs and numerous cats were found wandering in and around their smelly, soiled house in French Camp, 90 miles east of San Francisco in San Joaquin County, authorities said. “It was a nightmare,” said Sheriff’s Lt. Ken Wagner. “The carpet was so soaked with urine it felt like you were walking on a sponge.” The animals appeared well-fed, but the house was smeared with animal feces and littered with garbage, he said. Belinda Gascon, 28, president of the local chapter of Mobilization for Animals, and her parents, Adolfo, 52, and Romona, 51, were booked for investigation of animal cruelty and ordered to clean the house in a week or face sanitation violations. The Gascons have a kennel permit, “but they don’t have a permit to use their house as a kennel,” a county official said.