Well Sherry if I had told you the whole story then you would realize that
she's NOT a collector. She had to leave her home in SC suddenly (she was in
the process of moving ) because the lady she was renting to demanded that
she take all the animals with her that were going to stay and be eventually
taken to WI 5 at a time to be adopted out. She offered this lady FREE rent
in exchange for taking care of the animals. When she saw that this lady lied
to her and DID NOT come through on her part of the bargain, she had no
choice but to take them with her, she could not leave them ALONE!!! She did
not even take ANY of her belongings with her, just the animals and what THEY
needed. Nutro Max food, not junk cat food, litter boxes ect.... On the way
to WI, they encountered a storm which damaged the covering to the animals
trailer. They stopped several times to fix it and unfortunately some of the
animals got wet. They made it to Oshkosh, put the animals in the basement of
a house they were renting, to DE-STRESS with adequate food, water and litter
boxes then she went to get some rest. (18 hrs drive from SC to WI) This was
temporary and the animals had only been there 12 or less hours when a
neighbor complained of the dogs barking. "The "Humane" Society was then
called, and in doing what they called a "rescue" they terrorized them and
took 6 hours to get them into cages which my friend could have done
PEACEFULLY in 20 minutes, they refused to give any of them medication ( a
few of the cats had upper respiratory before they left) until they received
her signature surrendering the animals over (but that's not called neglect,
nooooo). Several of the animals were promised to her family the very next
day. Several of the animals were her own personal pets. She would have had
to pay $17 a day per pet (17x44 for ? long=????) to have kept them in her
name. She has given most of her money for the trip and to take care of these
animals and not much was left. She is also currently working with the OHS to
get donations to help with the cost of caring for the animals. She has
written extensive letters to the shelter with details of all the animals,
including their names, medical history, if they intended to be adopted out
or kept by her ect... Remember she intended to continue to make trips back
and forth from SC to WI to get 5 animals at a time as the state law allows
and find acceptable homes for them. She uses Petfinder if you are familiar
with that. You know a friend of mine called the OHS and they admitted that
only a few of the animals were sick unlike the LIES Joni Geiger told to the
news reporters that they were ALL sick The media wanted a story and the
Humane Society wanted to look like they were doing the animals a "favor" and
"rescuing" them. Some of the cats are semi-ferals which my friend has been
working with for months to tame down and get ready for adoption. According
to the HS and their criteria they will probably be put down since they don't
have the time or patience (like a true animal lover would) to work with cats
who are not ready yet for adoption. All that work to get an abandoned animal
to trust and love a human and what does it get? Killed! The animals in the
newscast were healthy and the dogs were wagging their tails unlike the words
that were being said by the reporter that they were all sick animals with
sad faces. Well I would be sad too if I were chased around by strangers,
taken away from my owner and put into a cage in a hostile environment! Now
she faces possible legal charges for doing what she could to not abandon her
animals in SC, put them in a quiet home to de-stress until the next day
until she could find more acceptable situation. She is called a "collector"
and an animal abuser. I have seen those kind of people, they do not properly
care for, feed, take time with, medicate, spay/neuter or love their animals
much less adopt them out! They are just possesions to them and would have
left them to fend on their own in the situation my friend found herself in.

Now hopefully you understand more of the story and truly do understand that
she is not an animal abuser. I would NEVER align myself with any one like
that. Check out her "about me" page on eBay. Her name is felineurgentrescue.
An animal abuser would never have done what she did. Poor lady is mortified
and the media is making her out to be a villian. All she has ever done is to
help these animals that would have died from starvation, disease or allowed
to continue to multiply. Evidently in SC when someone moves who doesn't want
their cat, they just open the door and let them "go with the wind". That
attitude is not acceptable to my friend and she devoted her life to helping
those who could not help themselves.

Renée

The whole thing sounds sad. I guess the questions I have are, were the pets all
neutered? Vaccinated? In her new home, did she have adequate facilities to
separate ill animals, and was it truly large enough to accommodate 44 animals?
If not, they should have been seized. One person just can't do it all. I do
admit that the methods of that particular H.S. were harsh; and we all know the
media loves to manipulate a story.
I have no doubt that your friend loved those animals dearly and did the best
she could. But honestly, it sounds like she was over her head. We have over 40
cats at the the shelter, and even in the facility, it takes a *staff* to take
care of them properly. Not just one person. What I really don't understand is
why she hauled so many cats across country, and put them through that trauma,
instead of enlisting the aid of a rescue org. or shelter to help her re-home
them in that state.