Hudson home's secret: Forty-three dogs

The deaths of two women in the home bring its filthy conditions to light.

By MOLLY MOORHEAD, Times Staff Writer
Published November 16, 2007

Diane Lombardi, 58, right, speaks with Animal Control and Code Enforcement officers after signing over custody of the dogs, removed after a guest died at the house Wednesday.
	[Brendan Fitterer | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Stephen J. Coddington | Times] One of the 43 dogs found in a Hudson home's squalor. [Brendan Fitterer | Times] A look into the home at 16034 Frost Drive.

HUDSON -- The caller was worried about Lois Lombardi.

So the Pasco Sheriff's Office sent a deputy to the beige stucco home on Frost Drive where the 64-year-old disabled woman lived with her sister.

When Deputy Jason Christy arrived March 15, Diane Lombardi answered the door. He told her he was checking on her sister.

Diane Lombardi's response was unusual, and perhaps prophetic.

"When I asked if I could see her sister," Christy wrote in his report, "she began making excuses and going off on tangents. ... She repeatedly said that she cares for her dogs well, and when asked how she cares for her sister, she would go on again about unrelated things. ... She repeatedly refused to allow me to see her sister, or even just to check the condition of the interior of the residence."

Stymied, the deputy left and referred the case to the Department of Children and Families.

This week, Diane Lombardi came to the attention of authorities again when the body of Linda Lesack, 65, was found in her back yard. The woman had lived with the Lombardi sisters for more than two years.

Deputies asked to go inside, but Lombardi refused. When they insisted, they found 43 dogs living in their own filth. Feces, several inches thick, covered the floor, the top of the dining room table, a computer. The dogs occupied the house, while Lombardi lived in the garage.

And when deputies put the whole story together, they realized that Lesack was the second woman to die at the home within the last two weeks.

Lois Lombardi, who had cerebral palsy, was found dead in a backyard lawn chair on Nov. 6.

Diane Lombardi, it seems, found it difficult to properly balance the needs of her dogs and those of the two women in her care.

"I guess it's time to fess up," Lombardi, 58, said Thursday. "I was so horrified -- my God, if anybody ever saw this.

"And I wanted to protect the dogs."

No sign of foul play

Diane Lombardi is not a suspect in either death.

Pasco sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin said there was no sign of foul play or trauma to either woman. An autopsy is planned on Lesack; authorities say Lois Lombardi died of natural causes.

"My main concern was my sister, so as a result my house got neglected and the dogs got neglected," Lombardi said.

For now, the county is trying to decide whether Lombardi's house should be condemned and what to do with her 43 dogs.

Medical tests are being done on the dogs, mostly juveniles of mixed breeds, said Denise Hilton, the county's animal services director.

In general, she said they appeared to have parasites and were underweight. What's worse, the dogs haven't been socialized, which could jeopardize their chances for adoption.

"Even if they were physically healthy, that would be a very difficult problem to deal with," Hilton said.

Lombardi said the hope of finding them homes was the only reason she agreed to give them up.

Nine years ago, she had one dog. Then she got another, and it had puppies. Then those puppies had puppies.

As time went by, she took in strays and let people leave their sick dogs with her to rehabilitate, she said.

Animal Services began citing her for violations in 2003. Improper confinement of an aggressive animal, failure to vaccinate, animal running at large. She paid hundreds of dollars in fines.

She acknowledges she lied to authorities about the number of dogs she was keeping in her house and the house across the street that she inherited after her parents died.

"I don't believe in having animals put to sleep," she said. "As a result, I kind of got too many."

Things got worse this summer when Lois was hospitalized with pneumonia. The mess became unmanageable.

"I didn't know where to begin. When I saw it, I was like 'forget it,'" she said. "I pretty much wound up giving the house to the dogs.

She and Lois moved into the garage, where she had a stove, freezer, washer and dryer. Lesack, whose health was declining, stayed in a back bedroom where the dogs didn't go. Lombardi said she would take her sister outside for picnics, and they would talk to Lesack through the window.

That's also how she moved Lesack's body out of the house on Wednesday.

Neighbors stunned

Lombardi's neighbors in Viva Villas, off U.S. 19, have battled her for years about the barking and the stench.

But even Marjorie Marien, who lives between Lombardi's two houses, didn't realize the extent of the problem.

"How she could let this get out of hand like this is unbelievable," said Marien, 70.

To Lombardi, who is staying with her daughter because her house is considered a health hazard, it's not so complicated.

"I'm an animal lover," she said. "What can I tell ya?"

Molly Moorhead can be reached at moorhead@sptimes.com or 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6245.

[Last modified November 15, 2007, 22:55:04]