A 40-year-old woman who again and again defied county orders forbidding her from owning pets was sentenced to two years of probation and psychological counseling Thursday after she was found in possession of dozens of animals, according to authorities.

Some of those pets were tied up, were in poor health or wounded and were kept in crates in Elicia Diaz-Caceres’ tiny Southeast Portland duplex, authorities say.

Portland police and Multnomah County Animal Services seized 52 animals -- including dogs, cats, rabbits and turtles -- from Diaz-Caceres’ home near Southeast 70th Avenue and Flavel Street in March 2018. Investigators described the conditions as “deplorable” after finding multiple animals in a single crate, a dog with open wounds that required stitching and animals without access to water, including a dog with 10 newborn puppies.

Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Nicole Jergovic said Diaz-Caceres already was under a civil order from Animal Services not to own any pets because of her past treatment of them.

Within a few months, three people reported seeing animals in Diaz-Caceres’s home. In June 2018, authorities again executed a search warrant on her duplex. They found two guinea pigs in a dirty cage and three kittens that were tied up, looked thin and had weepy eyes, plus no access to water.

Those pets were seized.

Then in September 2018, investigators say a relative of Diaz-Caceres’ reported that Diaz-Caceres had been in a car accident, a dog in Diaz-Caceres’ home had died and Animal Services needed to seize some remaining malnourished puppies because no one could care for them.

According to court records, Diaz-Caceres also had been convicted of the crimes of failing to provide animal care in 2000 and animal neglect in 2008. Jergovic said it’s very common for people who struggle with the desire to possess large numbers of animals to fall into a cycle of repeat behavior.

After her arrest, Diaz-Caceres told jailers she has nine children but two who live with her. She said she has borderline personality disorder, post traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. She said she has never held a job and receives Social Security disability payments and food stamps, according to court papers.

In August, Diaz-Caceres pleaded guilty in Multnomah County Circuit Court to seven counts of animal neglect.

In addition to two years of probation and counseling to address her desire to take in large numbers of pets, Judge Thomas Ryan told Diaz-Caceres that she can’t own animals or pet sit for anyone with animals, without prior permission from her probation officer.

“Not even for one second. Do you understand that?” Ryan said. “It’s a very important part of this probation.”

Under state law, Diaz-Caceres will be prohibited from possessing animals for at least five years.

-- Aimee Green

agreen@oregonian.com

o_aimee

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