New twist in rabbit tale

Woman detained in Tigard hotel for hoarding rabbits – again

By Christina Cooke

The Times, Jun 17, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (2 Reader comments)

MIRIAM SAKEWITZ

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A woman with a long history of hoarding and neglecting rabbits was taken into custody again Tuesday afternoon for allegedly keeping caged rabbits at a Tigard extended-stay hotel.

Tigard police officers arrested Miriam Sakewitz, 47, at the Homestead Suites on Southwest 68th Parkway for violating her probation, which included an order that she not come within 100 yards of a rabbit.

“She was cooperative,” said Tigard police spokesman Jim Wolf. “Although there was no indication to our officers of any signs of animal neglect, the room was dirty.”

Hotel maintenance staff noticed the animals and cages when they were called to the room to fix the television, Wolf said.

Police forced their way into the hotel room after a metal lock on the door’s interior prevented them from entering with a key, he said.

Inside, they found Sakewitz, along with eight adult and five baby rabbits in cages and roaming loose on the floor, Wolf said. There was one dead rabbit in the room as well.

Sakewitz had been living at the hotel for several months, Wolf said.

Bob Severe, a parole and probation supervisor for Washington County Community Corrections, who has supervised Sakewitz since 2007, said Tuesday’s arrest was unusual for the woman who had been cooperative since her conviction in 2007 on animal neglect charges.

“Up until yesterday, we haven’t had any issues with her at all,” Severe said. “We had a couple of probation violations early on in 2007, and once we got through those, we’ve been supervising infrequently because she’s been fairly compliant. This is a new thing for us.”

The probation violation allegations against Sakewitz include possession of rabbits and changing her address without permission, Severe said. Probation officers thought she was living with a friend in Clackamas County, he said.

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