The initial news headlines were apocalyptic — more than 700 dogs and cats were found in deplorable conditions according to authorities, who said the California property where they executed a search warrant represented the most extreme animal hoarding case in history.
A day later the numbers have been revised down to a still-significant 250 dogs and 66 cats, and the owner of Rock N Pawz shelter in Los Angeles County says she and her facility have been smeared, resulting in a flood of death threats directed at her.
The story is a reminder that facts aren’t always established as quickly as we’d like them to be in the age of 24/7 news and social media, and the advent of photorealistic AI can add to confusion and stir public outrage by distorting the reality of fluid situations.
What we know for sure is that officers from the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control executed a search warrant on the property in Lake Hughes, an unincorporated community in the Sierra Pelona Mountains, about an hour’s drive from Los Angeles proper. The investigation was prompted by repeated complaints from neighbors, who said there were overwhelming odors coming from the shelter and claimed there were regular dog fights and incessant loud barking.
A local news station, KTLA, reported authorities on site were wearing respirators with protective gear, and quoted authorities who said they did not believe it was a case of intentional neglect.
“Sometimes people try to do the right thing, and they may bite off more than they can chew,” the Department of Animal Care’s Sgt. Matthew Davoodzadeh told the station. “They end up ultimately not being able to care for the animals in a proper way.”
Authorities have not filed charges related to the case and there have been no allegations of criminal conduct.
The influx of animals has strained nearby shelters while veterinarians examine the 316 dogs and cats taken from the property.
In the meantime, shelter owner Christine D’Anda said descriptions of the property and the conditions of the animals aren’t accurate, and took to social media to complain of harassment and death threats directed at her since news of the search warrant hit the web.
On Facebook, users posted images allegedly taken from the property, while others pushed back, alleging the images are either AI creations or were taken from unrelated news stories.
The shelter’s page indicated active rescue and adoption efforts, including fundraisers and an advertised adoption event last weekend.
D’Anda said she will fight the allegations in the legal system.
“There’s nothing that I can do. I’m a very stoic person,” she said. “I’m very sad about the whole situation, and I can’t wait to go to court.”
Pain In The Bud 
AI. I would say what i think about it but you will not print it.
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Sometimes comments get caught in the spam filters, but I can’t recall ever withholding a legitimate comment.
The reason I have comment moderation is because I write about controversial and emotional topics fairly frequently, and leaving comments open would allow anti-cat crazies to bombard the site with intentionally antagonistic and upsetting comments.
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I would never write down curse words.
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This is a very unfortunate situation. It does seem to be a case of good intentions being overwhelmed. Unfortunately, that doesn’t really help the hoarded animals. Nor does it justify the death threats. It’s sad all the way around.
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For what it’s worth, I did not see any animals that looked like they were in poor shape, and I looked closely at the photos shared by animal control as well as the shelter. But who knows? It’s impossible to tell without being there.
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You are correct. If you do not see any kind of abuse or neglect then this is not that case. I should know. 2 houses with over 30 cats. One spotless and all taken care of. Fed. Vetted, etc. 2nd house. Dead cats in freezer. Visibly sick cats just sitting on the floor. Smell really bad. I have been in both of those houses. 2nd one was clealy a hoarder.
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Are you old enough to remember the saying that “seeing is believing?” I’m not sure it was totally true back then, but it sure as h*ll ain’t true these days. Life’s so complicated, and in these days of the Internet and AI I fear it’s only going to get worse.
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I’m ashamed to admit I fell for an AI video a month or two back. It was some video of a jaguar fighting off two large dogs, photorealistic. Then I saw another one, and another, and all of a sudden social media was teeming with these incredible videos of improbable animal brawls.
I haven’t published it yet, but i’ve written a post about how India’s having a big problem with fake videos of tiger and leopard attacks, which drives local anger and conflicts with the big cats.
There are so many incredible things we can do with AI, and people use it for this nonsense.
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Unfortunately, history has shown that if humans can misuse technology for evil they will.
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