To the Editor:

Thank you for your article regarding the two sisters and their cats (Oct. 2, 2014, “Arrested with 45 cats in camper: Elderly sisters stray from course”).  It highlights several gaps in our alleged “safety net” for those who could use our help, both humans and animals.  You also raised a number of questions that I would like to see discussed further.

Is arrest the only allowable response in our animal protective system regardless of whether the action was deliberate cruelty (e.g. dogfighting) or good intentions gone awry? Did anyone at Delmar Animal Hospital ask the sisters why they needed to euthanize several animals?  Did they offer any assistance or suggestions for help if they knew the women were taking in strays?

Per your article, the sisters called several rescue groups trying to place the cats, but were turned away.  Did Delmar Animal Hospital staff know this, or did they just call the authorities first and ask questions later?  Could the police have taken a less punitive and confrontational approach?

I guess I’m angry because “there but for fortune go I.” I don’t know if I could find a hungry, cold, or sick animal on my porch and just shut the door and ignore its suffering.

I would have to try to do what I could to help, no matter how little that was.  I have rescued animals, and fed newborns every two hours, and called shelters and rescue groups. I have looked for good homes for abandoned animals, and volunteered with spay/neuter programs.

Shelters have very limited resources, and simply cannot afford to feed all the animals that are abandoned.  If a home cannot be found, a gentle sleep is kinder than starvation on the streets.  I know this, and yet it would be emotionally wrenching to hand over a trusting creature, knowing that I might be consigning it to death.  

Do I understand the need? Yes.

Do I understand how someone could find it impossible to take that action?  Also yes.

It is easy to judge when we have never had to face the decision ourselves. I do not know what I would do in the sisters’ situation, and I pray that I will never have to find out.

I am not suggesting that animals be left in a situation where they cannot be adequately cared for, but why can’t the agencies involved create a system that includes assistance/treatment as appropriate for the keeper of the animals?

By the same token, I would like to see the existing animal protection laws strengthened.  I believe that deliberate cruelty to those weaker than ourselves is a serious mental disorder that demands immediate treatment at best, and incarceration if necessary; and this includes (but is by no means limited to) child abuse and elder abuse, as well as animal abuse.

I’m sure that by some people’s standards I have “too many” animals, and they are the joy of my life.  I do not let them roam free, even though I live in a very rural area.

There are foxes, bears, coyotes, martins, and raccoons, and farmers and householders who need to put out rat poison.  I don’t want to risk my pets catching poisoned prey, or becoming prey themselves, so I keep them inside.  I discovered the hard way that even my poultry needs to remain penned during the day if I want them to be safe.

If ever I became destitute, and was trying to do what I needed to do to better my situation, and took some comfort in still being able to try to help a little creature less fortunate than I, I hope I would not be judged too harshly for it.  I understand that the parties involved took the actions they felt they had to, but it is a sad and unfortunate situation.

Phyllis E. Johnson
Berne