The spirit of service

EAST MILLCREEK — George Barron would be seen often walking down the street, many times with a cage in his hand.

Neighbors knew when he came back up the street, he would likely have a cat in the cage. Some gave him the nickname "the catnapper" because he allegedly would take neighborhood cats and bring them back to his house. He was so obsessed with collecting cats that Barron would go online and find cats that were being given away for free.

Barron, 68, hardly ever talked to his neighbors, often going out of his way to avoid conversation. Everyone in his neighborhood knew of him, but no one really knew him.

His home, near 3400 South and 2300 East, was set off the main road and covered with so many thick trees in his front yard that it was almost secluded from the rest of the neighborhood.

What neighbors didn't know was that inside Barron's door was a house unfit for humans or animals to live in.

More than a dozen cats, rabbits, hamsters, birds and even fish lived in Barron's house with him. Nearly every corner of the house was covered in feces, in some places a foot deep. The carpet was so soaked with urine that it was still dripping when cleanup crews pulled it up. The shower hadn't been used in years.

"It was just unbelievable. Unless you saw it, you can't even describe it," said neighbor Julie Sharp.

Neighbors learned of Barron's secret after reading media reports Thursday. Barron himself called the Animal Advocacy Alliance of Utah, asking for help. When group members arrived, they, too, were stunned at what they found.

Although everyone agrees that Barron had the best intentions and that he truly cared about the animals, he was unable to take proper care of them.

This weekend, neighbors and residents from as far away as West Valley City rallied to help the man whom they really never knew. More than a dozen people who heard of Barron's story in the media showed the true spirit of lending a neighbor a helping hand and volunteered their time and materials to clean up his house. They started Friday and continued through Saturday evening.

"He's alone. He has no family. Somebody had to step in," said one neighbor who volunteered Saturday. "Everybody knows George. He's a neighborhood fixture. I didn't know what was inside his house."

Barron used to live with his mother. She died 25 years ago, and neighbors said he had been living by himself ever since.