A serial pet hoarder was indicted on animal cruelty charges for keeping nearly 40 dogs and cats in her filthy Queens home — and she already faced a court order banning her from owning pets, prosecutors said Thursday.
Self-described animal lover Elizabeth Grant, 56, allegedly had 26 dogs and 12 cats living in her trash-strewn, fly-filled Jackson Heights house with no available water for the pets, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
Police also allegedly found three dead cats in the 82nd Street home.
When cops came to Grant’s front door with a search warrant on May 21, they were met with an overwhelming stench of ammonia, prosecutors said.
The smell was so bad that cops and the ASPCA were forced to put on respirators after sustaining eye irritation, according to the Queens DA’s office.
Feces, fur and urine allegedly covered the furniture and floor in the dilapidated two-story home.
Authorities found the carcasses of three cats, and dozens of living, matted pets, which they rescued, according to the criminal complaint against Grant — who once claimed she “can’t live without animals.”
One of the saved pooches — a blind Shih Tzu — was emaciated, dehydrated and underweight, a veterinarian said after the rescue.
The terrified dogs and cats were taken to an ASPCA shelter, and many of them have since been adopted into “new, loving homes,” according to prosecutors.
This was the fourth time Grant — had her pet-filled home was raided by officials, according to the ASPCA.
The heartless hoarder was convicted of 108 counts of animal cruelty after 70 pets were rescued from her property in 2016.
She was sentenced to three years of probation and banned by a judge from owning any pets until 2028.
But when she was pressed to sign documents imposing the ban at her sentencing in 2018, Grant complained that her life was meaningless without pets.
“I can’t live without animals. I’m not married, I have no children. They are my children,” she told Queens Judge Stephanie Zaro at the time.
“I don’t care if you love them. They were hurt, and no more animals will be hurt by you,” Zaro snapped back.
Grant was arraigned in Queens Supreme Court Wednesday on the 88-count indictment charging her with aggravated cruelty to animals, overdriving, torturing or injuring an animal, criminal contempt and failing to provide proper food and drink to an impounded animal.
Her next court date is set for Sept. 27.
If convicted, she faces up to two years in jail.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz slammed Grant in a statement.
“Pets are not collectibles,” Katz said. “They require care, adequate food, water, and a clean place to live.”
“Sadly, this defendant is charged with doing little more than accumulating pets and failing to provide the basic sustenance for life,” Katz added.
“Three animals are dead as a result of this defendant’s alleged negligence and the others suffered from diseases and other ailments.”
The Post was unable to reach Grant Thursday.
