Shelter operator loses court battle for cats

Shelter operator loses court battle for cats

I have to admit, I actually was siding with the owner/operator of the shelter on the seizure of the animals, right up until I read this:

“Upon entering the premises, I was overcome with the odour and I had to move outside where I had dry heaves,” the officer later wrote in a sworn affidavit. “I would describe the conditions inside the premises as horrid and unsanitary. . . . The floors were covered in cat feces and litter boxes were overflowing with cat feces.”

Some 42 cats were found inside, and 20 more were outside in a shed attached to the home, along with the dog. The dog had no access to water and a dead cat was also found in a cage outside, says an affidavit from the veterinarian.

The house’s ventilation was not enough to deal with “damaging levels of ammonia,” she wrote. The iguana’s mouth was ulcerated and the unsanitary conditions were compromising its health, as well as the health of the turtles, which had lesions and indications of impending “shell rot,” the veterinarian said.

The conditions at LaPlante’s home were “totally unacceptable,” Dovell noted in her decision.

Now, let's be clear - Doris doesn't think that she's a "cat-hoarder". And that may very well be the case. I, however, have trouble believing that when she is attempting to appeal this decision.

To be frank, I am a cat-lover at heart. But here's what it comes down to - she filed an injunction to ensure that the SPCA couldn't adopt out or euthanize the pets while the case was in court. She's filing an appeal to the original decision to get the animals back in time to ensure that the injunction still bars adopting or euthanizing the animals. If she TRULY just wanted to find shelters for each of those animals without the threat of euthanasia, and if she were TRULY not a cat hoarder, then she would be happy that the animals (assuming not her own pets) are being given good homes and she wouldn't be attempting to get them back. If she truly isn't a hoarder, then she would only object to any animals being euthanized while allowing the animals to be adopted out to good homes. The fact that she wants them back means that either she is a hoarder or she doesn't have the right mindset to operate a shelter.

Hopefully it's the latter, but I suspect it's the former.