The Animal Rescue League (ARL) of Marshalltown announced in a social media post on Tuesday afternoon that it will be suspending all cat intakes and will not respond to calls outside of the Marshalltown city limits, citing an ongoing situation in Laurel that has placed a strain on the organization’s resources and alleged inaction on behalf of Marshall County leadership.

“This decision was not made lightly. We have been placed in a position where we can no longer continue these services without putting the entire organization at risk. Our partnership with the City of Marshalltown remains strong. Their leadership has been supportive, communicative, and committed to animal welfare. The challenges we are facing right now are not related to the City. They are the result of decisions made at the county level, and it is important for our community to understand that distinction,” the ARL wrote in the post. “A large number of animals were seized nearly 40 days ago after we responded to assist the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office with a search warrant. Our team helped remove the animals from the property and transported them to the shelter for safekeeping. Under Iowa law, a hearing to determine their future is supposed to happen within 10 days. We are now approaching 40 days, and no hearing has been scheduled. Because of this delay, these animals are stuck in our care with no legal way to move forward. They cannot be fostered, adopted, or released. They are living in small holding spaces far longer than they should be, and their well-being is being affected while we wait for the county to take the required next steps.”

At least 20 of the animals they took in from Laurel are cats, the post said — six cats, six kittens and two adult dogs were seized on May 2, and three days later, the neighbors acquired four more that lived at the house but were hiding in basements or roof holes before.

“And since being in our care, one mom cat gave birth. Another mom cat is about to give birth any day. So our current numbers are over 20 — three of the kittens born didn’t survive. But I can’t even cremate them until I have this hearing,” ARL of Marshalltown Executive Director Austin Gillis said.

Charleen Breckenridge, 40, of Laurel has been charged with a pets per household limit violation, a simple misdemeanor, and her pretrial conference is currently set for July 1 after being rescheduled multiple times. The criminal complaint against her alleged that the house where she and the animals were residing had not had running water in over a year and was deemed uninhabitable by a veterinarian due to the lack of water and food access along with sanitation concerns.

“The animals had been left alone for approximately one week and had been given food and water once in that time period,” it read.

Along with pausing cat intakes, the ARL also announced that it will be pausing its response to calls outside of city limits due to “ongoing issues” with the county and the lack of a current agreement.

“To date, we have taken on more than $12,000 in costs for the care of these animals. Because no hearing has been held, we have no way to recover any of these expenses. As a nonprofit with a limited budget and no government funding, we cannot continue to absorb costs at this level,” the post reads. “At the same time, the county allowed our contract to expire and has not responded to the proposals we submitted weeks ago. Instead of working with their local shelter, they have explored sending services to other counties. This leaves us carrying the full financial and operational burden without any support or partnership.”

It alleges that attempts to get answers from county leaders have been met with “silence or deflection” and urges concerned citizens to contact the Board of Supervisors or the Marshall County Attorney’s Office.

“We know this situation creates challenges for our community, and we do not take that lightly. Our goal has always been to be here for the animals and for the people who rely on us. At the same time, we have a responsibility to protect the long-term stability of this organization so we can continue serving Marshalltown and the surrounding area for years to come,” the post concludes. “We remain fully committed to the animals already in our care, and our team will continue to provide for them as we work through this situation. We will share updates with the community as soon as we have them. Thank you for your patience, your understanding, and your continued support during a time that should never have reached this point.”

Marshall County Attorney Jordan Gaffney told the T-R he had no comment on the situation due to the ongoing legal matter, and at presstime, Board of Supervisors Chairman Jarret Heil had not responded to a request for comment.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.