More than 60 animals
recovered from woman’s home

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

Animal-welfare agents last week raided the disheveled Oxford Circle home of a schoolteacher who took in more animals than she could handle.
Workers found 46 cats and 16 dogs at the home of Jerri Diane Sueck, of the 6600 block of Horrocks St. Animals in the urine-filled, insect-infested house displayed varying degrees of neglect and illness, according to the Pennsylvania SPCA.
Agents also uncovered tenant Beatrice Lloyd, 63, who owned 14 of the dogs found in the home, sitting in the basement covered in feces. She was later taken to Friends Hospital for a mental health evaluation.
Sueck, 51, a teacher at Franklin Learning Center, a magnet high school in Fairmount, was charged with keeping animals in unsanitary conditions and failure to provide veterinary care. She faces a total of $93,000 in fines — $1,500 for each of the 62 animals taken from the home. She will be given a court date on Monday, according to Lisa Rodgers, a spokeswoman for the SPCA.
"Some of them were in very bad shape and were not viable for adoption," Rodgers said of the animals. "Some of them had to be euthanized."
Workers treated the animals for several conditions, including dehydration, fleas and mange. The agency plans to put as many as possible up for adoption.
Though neighbors claimed to have smelled a stench coming from Sueck’s home for some time, neither the Community Life Improvement Program (CLIP) nor the office of Councilwoman Joan Krajewski (D-6th dist.) reported any previous complaints about the property.
Years ago, Sueck authored a book about her childhood of neglect and misfortune called Letters My Mother Never Read: An Abandoned Child’s Journey.
In a previous published report, she said she’d taken in the animals to help homeless people living in the area.
Attempts to reach Sueck at her home were unsuccessful.
Rodgers said that services are available for animal hoarders like Sueck but not through the SPCA. Sueck will not be allowed to formally adopt any animals from the agency in the future.
"People who hoard animals, they’re people who hoard other things," Rodgers said. "It’s a similar type of illness."
A school district spokeswoman said that the incident does not put Sueck’s teaching job at risk. ••