To the Editor:

About five years ago, my wife and I discovered an abandoned TNR [Trap-Neuter-Return] colony of cats living behind the Chinese restaurant here in the village. As longtime readers of The Enterprise learned over a series of columns I wrote about the experience, one of the people who was very helpful was Marcia Scott of Happy Cat. Also helpful was Sue Greene of Guilderhaven, with vet bills for the five rescues.

Marcia loaned us a number of humane traps to get the cats in before winter set in, helped with advice and other equipment, and even got us food and litter. We later were able to rehome three of the cats and we kept two, one of which survives to this day and continues to make our lives interesting.

Over time, I ran into Marcia and her husband multiple times at fundraisers and pet events, and always found her to be a caring person with regards to her feline charges. I also discovered that many of the local agencies involved in animal rescue, fostering, adoption, and care are run by well-meaning people but basically allow their passion to outrun their common sense.

The level of jealousy, backstabbing, rumor-mongering, and gossiping that goes on among the animal rescue organizations is mostly reminiscent of a kindergarten class. These may be well-meaning people, but only for the animals. They’re not usually fond of one another.

So, when I read the story of Marcia, Happy Cat, and the local and state authorities, it came out as what it was: a hit job perpetrated by a jealous or angry anonymous person and implemented by agencies that can’t even produce the actual evidence the case is based on. They also seem unable to produce a set of enforceable rules these organizations can live by.

I have no doubt that there were probably issues at Happy Cat. But having visited other similar organizations over the years (and volunteering at an official animal shelter) I can agree that Marcia was likely done in by her inability to say no. Taking care of our three cats is a fair bit of work. Taking care of 20 or 30 or 40 would be taxing for anyone, let alone someone in her 70s. 

As for the character assassination perpetrated by one of the local TV news stations, that’s also no surprise, as the only interest they have in these types of stories is a ratings boost. Their ability to hype stories is matched only by their continuing lack of veracity when you start pulling the stories apart in search of facts.

I’m sorry that things turned out the way they did for Marcia and her husband but I’m not surprised either. At a time when people put the welfare of animals above common sense, it’s bound to happen. Funding is hard to come by, volunteers are few and far between, but needs just keep growing.

I hope when people read Marcia’s story, they realize that the fault is with our society and our system, not with the animal lovers of the world.

Michael Seinberg

Altamont

Editor’s note: Micahel Seinberg’s last Enterprise column, “Skewed view,” on what his baby granddaughter taught him about happiness, ran in February 2019.