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NJ animal rescue article
It took several tries to get the URL to work, article is below though.
Norm http://www.bergenrecord.com/page.php...cWVlRU V5eTM= Keeping tabs on tabbies Sunday, September 18, 2005 By ELAINE D'AURIZIO STAFF WRITER The cubicle in Jessica Gotthold's West Paterson office is decorated with a curious mixture of mementos from law enforcement, firefighting ... and felines. It has fire department arm patches, a photo of a Port Authority police officer - a friend who perished on 9/11 - cat calendars, kitty cartoons and a prayer to St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. Gotthold, who lives in Mahwah, is at her computer, closing an arson case she investigated as an agent for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. She has investigated big cases. The World Trade Center bombing in 1993 and the Unabomber killing of Thomas Mosser in his North Caldwell home are two. She has helped crack million-dollar arson scams and abortion-clinic bombings and broken up interstate explosives rings. Smart and courageous (she went through debris at Fresh Kills on Staten Island after 9/11 looking for items from the bureau's World Trade Center office), she has seen horrific sights on the job. She also is a determined animal advocate. Two years ago, Gotthold founded the National Foundation for Animal Rescue, a non-profit that tries to prevent cruelty to animals by raising awareness and slowing down the population explosion of homeless animals. Her dedication to her work and her commitment to animals are borne of the same compassion. "I'm a rescuer and a justice seeker of people and animals," she said. "Animals should have more rights than they do. We decide everything for them, whether they live or die. Since they can't speak for themselves, we have to speak for them." Says Rich Vera, a financial investigator for the bureau and a friend: "She's really committed to what she believes in: the rights and welfare of animals. It's a natural extension of what she does every day. She protects people. She takes that extra step to include animals." As a federal agent, Gotthold gets involved with fires connected with interstate or foreign commerce. She also is a certified fire investigator, able to testify about the origin and cause of a fire. So it's not unusual for law enforcers who know Gotthold to call her when they need help with animals. Last July, for example, Union City police called Gotthold to assist them at the apartment of a woman who had been raped and killed - and had 10 cats badly in need of medical care and homes. Dr. Steven Hodes, who owns the Hodes Veterinary Group in Mine Hill, remembers treating and neutering the animals. "She has a great big heart," he said of Gotthold. "Her commitment is probably unsurpassed. She's appreciative of our efforts. We're helping her do what her heart is directing her to do." The foundation assisted a woman with terminal cancer by buying a seat on a plane so her two cats could fly from Newark to a new home in Phoenix. Foundation members rescued three baby skunks from a woman who could get no one to respond to her, and they rescued a cat that had been stuck in a tree for days. "We've done some unusual rescues," Gotthold said. "I get calls every day about one animal crisis or another." Gotthold also traps feral cats. She gets the animals medical attention, neutering or spaying, and their shots. She tries to find homes for them. Some are fostered out to foundation volunteers. But it's hard. "There are just not enough people to take these animals," Gotthold said. "The toughest thing for me to accept is knowing that I can't help everybody." There wouldn't be any feral cats if it wasn't for human irresponsibility, she said. "We constantly have animals who are discarded because they don't fit into the owner's lifestyle anymore or they become inconvenient," she said, adding that people who neglect or abuse animals should be punished. (She does what she can to make that happen.) Gotthold advocates creation of a New Jersey animal task force and a federally funded program for neutering, spaying and protecting animals. Her love of animals and commitment to her job led Gotthold to her husband, Jeff Rudden, a Newark fire captain. Of like heart, he has rescued people and animals from fires. Gotthold met her future husband while investigating a house fire in which a firefighter had been electrocuted and a woman killed. She fell in love after Rudden helped her rescue two goats destined to die in a slaughterhouse next to the firehouse. The day after the fire, when she went back to pick up the goats, Rudden was pulling on the billy goat to get him out. "That was it, I fell for him," she said. "The animal magnetism was twofold." The goats, Romeo and Juliet, got a home in Saddle River. The love for animals started early for Gotthold, whose parents had cats. "I shared my baby food with them," she said. "I was an only child and they were my siblings." By 7, she was raising money to save baby fur seals. "I'm compelled to help," said Gotthold, who has two dogs and several cats. Edward Parzygnat, property manager of the complex where Gotthold works, tells a story about a cat colony in a Clifton building he manages. "Jessica went down into a fuel-tank pit at the complex, where a mother cat had relocated a litter, and removed the kittens," he said. "She came back that evening to trap the mother and was successful. She got them all their shots, had tests taken on them and had the mother spayed." E-mail: * * * Fast facts # It is estimated that there are as many as 100 million feral cats in the United States today. # Animals that are spayed or neutered are less likely to roam and get lost, less likely to fight, better behaved and more loving. # According to the Humane Society of the United States, one unneutered male cat and one unspayed female cat and their successive offspring will produce more than 80 million cats in 10 years. # Anyone wishing to contact the National Foundation for Animal Rescue for adoption, to volunteer or to make a contribution can call toll-free at (877) 554-8787. You can visit its Web site at nffar.org. |
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On Sun 18 Sep 2005 01:10:20p, Norm wrote in
rec.pets.cats.anecdotes ): It took several tries to get the URL to work, article is below though. Norm http://www.bergenrecord.com/page.php...jczN2Y3dnFlZUV FeXk1OCZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Njc3MzU0NiZ5cmlyeTdmN zE3Zjd2cWVlRUV5 eTM= Keeping tabs on tabbies Sunday, September 18, 2005 snip She's an angel of the truest sense! Thanks for sharing this, Norm. Fast facts # It is estimated that there are as many as 100 million feral cats in the United States today. # Animals that are spayed or neutered are less likely to roam and get lost, less likely to fight, better behaved and more loving. # According to the Humane Society of the United States, one unneutered male cat and one unspayed female cat and their successive offspring will produce more than 80 million cats in 10 years. This stat never ceases to amaze me. Just incomprehensible, though I know it's true! # Anyone wishing to contact the National Foundation for Animal Rescue for adoption, to volunteer or to make a contribution can call toll-free at (877) 554-8787. You can visit its Web site at nffar.org. -- Cheryl |
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Cheryl wrote:
She's an angel of the truest sense! Thanks for sharing this, Norm. You're entirely welcome, glad to provide some feel-good when so many animals are in need. # Anyone wishing to contact the National Foundation for Animal Rescue for adoption, to volunteer or to make a contribution can call toll-free at (877) 554-8787. You can visit its Web site at nffar.org. -- "In 2005, the refining margin...has exceeded $20 per barrel, far above the long-term average of $6. That has meant record profits for oil companies and refiners" NYT 2005/09/11 |
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