Decision In Animal Hoarding Case Expected Friday

OCALA — The man accused of being one of the worst animal hoarders ever in Marion County made an emotional plea to a judge Thursday to give his hundreds of animals back.

Marion County Animal Services found almost 400 animals they said were being neglected, along with the remains of more than 300 others at Ignacio Dulzaides’ property in mid-April.

Officers said the animals that were alive were in deplorable conditions. Many were covered in their own waste and in cages without clean water or food.

News 13 was there Thursday as Dulzaides argued in court that he was feeding the animals.

However, Dulzaides said he was sick recently and admitted he needed to do more to supervise their care.

“It’s my life, and I know there was messes. I’m correcting what was wrong,” Dulzaides said.

Dulzaides told the judge if he gets his animals back, he will let a veterinarian drop by his property unannounced to check on the animals and report back to the court.

However, the prosecutor said Dulzaides is not fit to care for the animals.

The judge is expected to make a decision Friday afternoon.