For months, families along Florida’s Treasure Coast searched their yards, put up photos, and called out at night for pets that had disappeared. Then, deputies found a scene inside a Martin County home that turned these private losses into a major animal cruelty investigation.
Authorities say 77-year-old U.S. Postal Service worker Gail Giustino had been picking up cats she found during her mail route. When investigators entered her home on July 20, they first removed 80 cats and 12 dogs. The number later rose to 108 as more animals were found or surrendered. Some cats had microchips that connected them to families who had been searching for them for months.
Giustino has been charged with one count of animal cruelty and one count of confining animals without sufficient exercise. The allegations have not been proven in court, and she is presumed innocent unless convicted.
A Search Warrant Reveals a Hazardous Home
The investigation started after a complaint that a postal worker was taking cats along her route. Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said animal control officers tried for days to check Giustino’s property, but she did not let them in. During that time, she gave about 15 animals to local shelters and told officials the animals were gone. Investigators were not convinced and got a search warrant for her house on Southwest Meadowlark Circle. When deputies, firefighters, and animal control officers arrived, trash and debris blocked the front door, so they had to go in from the back…