Tiger Ranch Raided For Animal Cruelty

Just for the record, I have been dealing with this since '03.

That was my first visit to the ranch, the conditions were horrid then,and have gone down hill ever since. Lin Marie was very good at letting people see just what she wanted them to see.

I am not asking you to speak for anyone else, as I could tell you tons of stories I have heard from others, but I will not repeat hearsay, only what I myself witnessed.

What your friend saw, and what the PA SPCA is showing on TV and in the papers are very different things. The bodies they are recovering are telling one story, the cats the found in various stages of health are telling it as well. No one can dispute what is going on there right now. As I said I saw it back in '03 and have kept impecable records on each and every report I have filed.I need no proof and no other veiws on the subject matter as I saw it with my own eyes.

They are removing those amimals OUT of the County, I can pretty much assure you there will be a full scale investigation into the H.A's who were there in August and reported nothing. This is far from over.

Its a sad article (just thought that I would warn you)

http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dl...EWS09/80318023

Actually makes me mad that people like this think that they are helping the situation.

Originally Posted by PetFriends

I can only assure you I spoke to Lin Marie personally regarding taking cats there and she DID tell me $25 per cat. There would be no reason for me to lie about that because I still think that is a more then fair price to surrender a cat.

Click to expand...

Thats good, she must have upped her rates. It used to be cheaper and everyone tried giving her more and told her she should ask more. Most shelters ask way more then that, one here asks $100 for owner surrenders! Now I think that is a lot.

Originally Posted by Misty Fox

Just for the record, I have been dealing with this since '03.

That was my first visit to the ranch, the conditions were horrid then,and have gone down hill ever since. Lin Marie was very good at letting people see just what she wanted them to see.

I am not asking you to speak for anyone else, as I could tell you tons of stories I have heard from others, but I will not repeat hearsay, only what I myself witnessed.

What your friend saw, and what the PA SPCA is showing on TV and in the papers are very different things. The bodies they are recovering are telling one story, the cats the found in various stages of health are telling it as well. No one can dispute what is going on there right now. As I said I saw it back in '03 and have kept impecable records on each and every report I have filed.I need no proof and no other veiws on the subject matter as I saw it with my own eyes.

They are removing those amimals OUT of the County, I can pretty much assure you there will be a full scale investigation into the H.A's who were there in August and reported nothing. This is far from over.

Click to expand...

Do you know that her death rate was only 12%? Do you know what the death rate of your local pounds and shelters are? Who kill for room, for stupid things like ringworm or just BECAUSE it is their policy?

Do you know that many many of the cats that she took in were already ill? Many had chronic, terminal and uncurable illnesses. Many were too wild to be adopted out from your average shelters. These cats would have otherwise been euthanized. Instead they had constant food, heated or cooled rooms to stay in with outdoor access, other cats to play with, large enclosures to come and go as they please (but not able to escape from), constant people coming in to pet, play with, hold, brush, etc...

No she didn't believe in euthanasia, as most people would think they should euthanize these untreatable, uncurable animals. FIV and FeLV are untreatable and I don't believe in euthanizing them, especially if they are perfectly happy and "healthy" for most of the time. My views on euthanasia aren't even the same as Lin's but I will defend her right to have them. I am smart enough to realize everyone views these things differently. This is a sensitive subject. Everyone has different views on euthanasia. Some euthanize immediately and some wait it out. You don't euthanize people when they have cancer, whether or not they are in pain. You sit and hold them, wipe their eyes, touch their faces, even as they pass away. This is how she viewed those cats. This is what she did with her cats. I have been there and seen this, I have done this at Tiger Ranch, she treated her cats better then many shelters I worked at did. There may have been many many cats there but she knew them ALL by name, knew their story, etc.

I am hearing that of the one's who were already dead, some were very young. Um, kittens pass away... FIP, FeLV, FIV, and a whole slew of problems can claim the lives of young cats. When you have a lot of cats in one place, the death rate is higher naturally (remember though it was still only 12%).

Another thing I don't understand is the burial pits and cats in freezers. It is standard practice to freeze bodies until they can be disposed of. Many shelters have large freezers as Lin did to store those bodies in. Then she buried them. She has been in operation for 14 YEARS! NATURALLY THERE ARE GOING TO BE A LOT OF BODIES. You can dispose of a body by burial, incineration, and their is a 3rd option I forget... THIS IS ALL NORMAL WAYS OF DEALING WITH DECEASED ANIMALS! Why is this even being brought up? Unless she wasn't burying deep enough or something, there is nothing wrong with this!

And lastly and then I am done because I have said all I can say... SHE HAS BEEN IN OPERATION FOR 14 YEARS. 14 years of humane officers popping in unexpectedly, 14 years of many members of the public from all OVER the US visiting and no one EVER found a problem. Sure some days are dirtier then others... as I probably mentioned earlier, hot muggy days are going to smell more and wet muddy days are going to be dirtier. These cats can go in and out as they please.

All I can say is this. Isn't having freedom to come and go, interaction with other cats, wide open pens to play in and trees to climb, both indoor and outdoor access with fresh air better then the small cages, crates and carriers that these animals are now living in inside the HUMANE SOCIETY??? How HUMANE. Maybe we should all dump our animals that we can't have anymore because they are causing us problems on Deb Urrman (sp?) and see if she can do a better job!

I only have one thing more to say on this and then I'm done with this thread.

Jen, you've said very well what I couldn't find the words to say.

Thank you Graciecat.

You just have to take things into context. She operated a LARGE SCALE shelter for mostly already sick and dying cats. There are very few sanctuaries in the US particularly that cater to these sick animals. Yes it is going to be a sad place! Yes there are going to be more dead animals on a regular basis. Yes there are going to be more scruffy, skinny, sicky looking cats because many of them ARE.

The fact of the matter is were the cats happy for their last days/weeks/months? Were they fed and watered? Were they comforted as they were dying? Were they given fluids until fluids just weren't enough to safe the life? The answer to all these questions IMO is YES. I do believe this 100%.

I think it would be important to find out what percentage of those sick cats were sick from things caused by bad shelter conditions--starvation, overcrowding, the kinds of illnesses that can be prevented. If she took in sick cats specifically, it might seem worse than it is.

This whole story makes me sad and a little frightened... I'm a volunteer at a no-kill shelter, and the fifty cats who live there are well taken care of; but it's crowded and the shy ones don't get as much attention as they ought to... I'm fostering one because she's too afraid of all the other cats. It's a great shelter now; they get vet care and they're all healthy and they adopt out a reasonable number of cats (they placed a little black one last Sunday) but I wonder whether one day it mightn't get out of hand, and the cats begin to suffer... The owner has had to begin turning away cats because she already has so many, and she hates doing it, but you just can't jeopardize the health of the cats you have...

You know, I just hate the whole situation. A cat ought to be a happy, well-loved pet, or at least a feral that somebody's looking out for. We domesticated them; we should care for them. It isn't fair that the only people who care are instantly overwhelmed if they can't steel themselves to turn away a cat that might die because nobody can take care of it, because one of their cats might die from overcrowding if they take it in.

Everything being said was all taken from Lin Marie's latest video with Andy Sheehan. You can watch it here.

http://kdka.com/local/Tiger.Ranch.Cat.2.679899.html

All direct quotes from Lin Marie aka Linda Bruno herself. No one can back up what she is sayin, she can say whatever she wants to, there is NO proof what so ever, that her death rate is 12% other than her own word.

Why you are lashing out at someone, active in the rescue community, in the same area this horror is going on is beyond me. Why kill the messenger? I can assure you I have never had a single dealing with any shelter that would put any animal down for ringworm. We have two fine no kill shelters here, since I belive in no kill, those are where I choose to put in my time.
I would be more than happy to listen to you tell me about the statistics of "your" shelters.
Why so hostile?

There are a few grizzly reasons to freeze a carcass, there is not however a reason not to have them incinerated.

I can not fathom why anyone who claims to love animals would not want to know the truth, regardless of the outcome, when it comes down to what is right for the animals. Some of you are taking this very personally, and being ugly to a stranger among you, who is doing nothing but telling the truth.

Lynn Marie also says, and is being quoted by Jen, about not having a problem in fourteen years, well that is far from the truth. There have been numerous complaints, there have been on going investagations. There just have never been charges filed against her.Alleghey County does not have any "private HA" the only two are the ones hired by Animal Friends, http://www.thinkingoutsidethecage.org/site/PageServerand the WPA Humane Society, http://www.wpahumane.org/available.htmlThe WPAHA 's Lee Nesser spoke out saying, they would not send anymore cats to Tiger Ranch, due to the fact there were so many there already. These agents are paid by Animal Friends, and the WPHS to work for those shelters.

They do not go out into the community,at large they are not paid for by the County, therefore they do not over see complaints that come into it. The do look into complaints, and do the work for the shelter they are paid to do the work for. The rest is left largely to animal control agents hired by boro and municpality. They are over taxed as it is with the dog and cat populations, they really do not have much power over a "private shelter". Finding a large animal agent in rural suburbia is next to impossible. Belive me I tired when I saw the condition those poor horses were in.

How sad it took three women from out of the area Deb Urrman [sic]who is being veiwed as a hero by many, to shut this slow kill shelter down.

None of you know me, and you have no idea of the hours I have logged in shelters, in wildlife rehab, making calls or writting letters and checks to assure a better world and life for animals.

Yet, you will quote me and try to drag down what I am saying, when all you have to do is do a google search, and the truth is right there for you.

Please take a look at the video , look at these cats, suffering, dying.

http://kdka.com/pets/Tiger.Ranch.Cats.2.680165.html

This is the only truth any of us need, to see what was going on, listen to the words of the psychologist from Voices for Animals, who took part in the raid.

This video is what it took for a Judge to get a search warrant to raid the ranch. It shows rooms and places on the ranch volunteers or people dropping off or picking up did not ever get to see. There were many complaints, this video just sealed her fate.

We all want what is best for the animals. Look around on the net, most you are going to find this on most animal BB's. But I have yet to visit one, or post on one, where I have been attacked and ganged up on for telling the truth.

God bless you all, especialy you Jen and Gracie.

Yep, watched it already. Is that ALL you are going on? Is that the famous video that brought Tiger Ranch down?

Those are the sick cats that are in the main building attached to the office. Those are the ones who are under constant medicating, constant care, and being treated or cared for. That is the purpose of that room. If you walked into the shelter I work at and walked into ISO you would see some very sick cats with goopy eyes, sneezy snot all over the place, diarrhea, vomit. That is WHY IT IS CALLED ISO. When you come in in the morning it smells bad in there, litterboxes are dirty, some cats dumped their water dishes and spilled their food bowls. If something horrible sweeps through we might come in one morning to a cat who passed away during the night. It is rare but it happens at all shelters. Should we be shut down? No one bothered to ask Lin who her vet is and to speak with her vet, to see proof that the cats are being medicated, etc. They just TOOK THEM ALL.

I have a friend who was there just 5 weeks ago and she said this is what she saw, not the video that is being shown by this Deb lady. I love how she videotaped the very sick cats, the days when the place was extra dirty and didn't film the WHOLE story. Check out these pictures, does this look like a horrid death camp to you? Deb showed you what the bad days look like, now look at what the GOOD days look like.

P.S. If I hadn't been there myself I would not be saying a word for or against her because if you hadn't been there you DON'T KNOW.

Jen, I salute you for your careful investigation and consideration of all facts
While those who point the fingers at Lin Marie need to realize is that 4 fingers point back at them! Anyone who smelled that odor, and didnt' go out and adopt at least 5 dogs and twice that many cats, and rehome them themselves or - gasp!- pay the vet to peacefully euthanize those animals themselves, need to gather the courage to act and not just accuse - step up to the plate!! IF only 10 people would have done just that, that would have been 50 dogs and 100 cats saved!!! with ONLY 10!!!
Why did so many people from multiple states, no less, dump on her-----why not do more themselves???? Or, if they did do some, why not more, till THEY'D done enough
If people were really compassionate about the cats, they'd being doing more at this very minute...but, oh yeah, i've been cruising on the net and examining kill rates and some shelters - one shelter in Missouri stated an 81% kill rate for their cats....Now, that's criminal Esp. if one considers the stomach injections forced upon cats, etc. ....
Sending vibes to cats in need everywhere
And to all those overwhelmed cat rescuers, I hope that this sad tale inspires others to assist and help you ; to give up their excuses not to and find the reason TO be a part of the solution. That would be the answer to MY prayer

Originally Posted by Misty Fox

Why you are lashing out at someone, active in the rescue community, in the same area this horror is going on is beyond me. Why kill the messenger? I can assure you I have never had a single dealing with any shelter that would put any animal down for ringworm. We have two fine no kill shelters here, since I belive in no kill, those are where I choose to put in my time. I would be more than happy to listen to you tell me about the statistics of "your" shelters.
Why so hostile?

Click to expand...

How am I lashing out? I too have been active in the rescue community for quite a few years. I am trying to understand why people who have never been there just believe what the media is telling you? That IS the sick and dying cats, they are in the main room for that very reason because they are on medication, fluids, special care, etc. I have been all over that place and it was nothing like the media is saying. I would never take cats there if I found the place disgusting. Granted, like I said, some days are bad and some are good. Sometimes it is dirty and more crowded then others. When the weather is bad the cats all huddle together inside. When it is rainy they track in mud, etc.

Originally Posted by Misty Fox

Lynn Marie also says, and is being quoted by Jen, about not having a problem in fourteen years, well that is far from the truth. There have been numerous complaints, there have been on going investagations. There just have never been charges filed against her.Alleghey County does not have any "private HA" the only two are the ones hired by Animal Friends, http://www.thinkingoutsidethecage.org/site/PageServerand the WPA Humane Society, http://www.wpahumane.org/available.htmlThe WPAHA 's Lee Nesser spoke out saying, they would not send anymore cats to Tiger Ranch, due to the fact there were so many there already. These agents are paid by Animal Friends, and the WPHS to work for those shelters.
.

Click to expand...

People complain all the time. Your beef with the place started with the problem you had with a dog you got from there. I know of people who adopted from shelters I work at complain because we turned them down. They then went on to bad mouth us on public forums and to others. And yes, I did work at a rescue a couple years back that euthanized for ringworm. My point is that other rescues kill for no reason, but Lin tries her best to nurse the sick ones back to health or comfort them when they cannot be nursed back to health and she is shut down. That doesn't even make any sense.

Originally Posted by catsknowme

Jen, I salute you for your careful investigation and consideration of all facts

While those who point the fingers at Lin Marie need to realize is that 4 fingers point back at them! Anyone who smelled that odor, and didnt' go out and adopt at least 5 dogs and twice that many cats, and rehome them themselves or - gasp!- pay the vet to peacefully euthanize those animals themselves, need to gather the courage to act and not just accuse - step up to the plate!! IF only 10 people would have done just that, that would have been 50 dogs and 100 cats saved!!! with ONLY 10!!!

Why did so many people from multiple states, no less, dump on her-----why not do more themselves???? Or, if they did do some, why not more, till THEY'D done enough

If people were really compassionate about the cats, they'd being doing more at this very minute...but, oh yeah, i've been cruising on the net and examining kill rates and some shelters - one shelter in Missouri stated an 81% kill rate for their cats....Now, that's criminal

Esp. if one considers the stomach injections forced upon cats, etc. ....
Sending vibes to cats in need everywhere
And to all those overwhelmed cat rescuers, I hope that this sad tale inspires others to assist and help you ; to give up their excuses not to and find the reason TO be a part of the solution. That would be the answer to MY prayer

Click to expand...

Thank you, again, I wouldn't say anything if I hadn't been there enough times over a stretch of time or have known people, including humane officers who went out there on various occasions. And you know, you only really smelled the odor on the muggy hot days! Otherwise it might have smelled a little barn like, there was pine shavings as litter and hay, plus with the dirt the cats tracked in, it had a barn smell. But it was an outdoor based facility (except for the sick room/office/treatment area/whatever you want to call it).

Jen,
I have been trying to get something done about Tiger Ranch since '03.
I live less than twenty minutes from there. I know what is going on and what has gone on.

When I said everything being said, I ment the video of Lin Marie, since that is where you seem to be getting all of your information Jen, you are quoting her chapter and verse, is that all you are going on ?*note the lack of caps, no need to hollar * Just what Lin Marie says, not the DMVs or the Psychologist who was there from Voice for Animals? or the countless agents from the SPCA?

I have been there numerous times, trying to get something done about the horses, I had a dog I rescued from there,placed kittens from there.

Please do not assume what I have or have not done for the Ranch, if you had taken the time to read my posts you would know.

If you want to help Lin Marie you should have been at her Rally today in Deer Township, with your picutres and your story. Please contact the local media here and make them aware of your story, I am sure they will hear you.
I was there, and have been in contact with the media since the beggining.

I did not have a "problem" with a dog, I had a problem with Lin Marie,(please read for comprehension and have the common respect not to twist my words, or my story, thank you. )Lin's failure to uphold a contract. I adopted the dog, nursed it back to health, have the Vet records to prove it, and the court records of my fight to get the dog back. I have a paper trail right back to '03, with letters from the DA who over sees the animal cases, and her efforts to get Lin Marie to back up her contract. I am not bad mouthing anyone, I am stating fact, and have the legal documents to prove it and back up every single thing I have said here.It would have been easy for Lin Marie to get that dog back by filing an action in replevin ,as someone who works in the shelter system, I am sure you are familiar with the adoption contracts. she promised to do so, and then went back on her word, and failed to support the dog, who was taken to an out of State shelter and PTS, torn from her loving home. There was no way she was going to the Magistrates office that day, and I later found out why. I am sure this will come to light in Court as well. Not my case per se, but many other ones.

Since the only HA in our area are from Animal Friends and the WPHA , are these the HA you are speaking of? Since Alleghey County does not hire HA as I said in my last post. If they are HA from your area, they have no juirsdiction out of their area.

Lin Marie AKA Linda Bruno, ever find out why she changed her name?
that may turn out to be a very enlighting experince for you.

Maybe the rescues you have dealt with kill for no reason, but the ones I do, do not, they would never be so callous.

As for the barn smell I own horses, I know what a barn and pine shavings smell like, and the difference between that and the over whelming smell of unine and scat, that I encountered on my first visit. When I went to pick up a very sick dog, on a crisp fall night, and was told I could not come until after ten. The odor of sick animals and fear is one you never forget, and one you can call spot on on site.

You have pictures of what she let you take pictures of.I notice the absence of at least two of the shelters and the isolation room, yes I am that familiar with the place. The site claimed the shelter had 300 acres, it has less than thirty , twenty nine to be exact. There are so many lies and strories that have been told, the truth is going to come out in Court.

There are two sides to this, do I think she was a monster? No, in fact quite the oppisite. I think she was over whelmed, and had a very strong need to control the situation, as a private shelter, she had that right.

As the PSPCA they had a right to go in and make sure no more animals had to suffer.

I see you want to open your own shelter, I hope you relise that dream some day, and I hope you take the very valuable lessons from Tiger Ranch with you and make your dreams come true, I hope knowing the difference between helping animals and letting them suffer are part of your reality.

I wish you nothing but the best of luck, and the wisdom to know when it is time to ease an animal out of this world in into the next, for I belive their souls are so great, they do go on, to a better place.

Peace to you, and I hope you go to the media with your story.

I mean humane officers from all over who come to bring cats out there and check the place out first as they would any other place. Maybe they have no jurisdiction but if they found something wrong they would have mentioned it or if they found some serious violations they would have reported her.

I didn't not mean problem with the dog, I mean problem with Lin involving the dog. I am sorry I did not specify that more clearly. I do understand your frustration on that.

I would have loved to go to the rally, I didn't find out about it until yesterday, late morning because that was the first time I could check my email, we had some stuff going on at work and I couldn't leave. Plus it takes me 2 hours to get there and I would have missed it by the time I checked my email. I plan to come to any more if I can and to her trial as well.

My point about rescues that kill for no reason aren't that I deal with them here and there. Only one I actually worked at killed for something as stupid as ringworm. Hence the reason why I don't work there anymore. There are hundreds of shelters out there that euthanize on the spot, for ANY medical problem, for space, for lack of time, etc, for no GOOD reason.

Her name is Linda Marie Bruno. She goes by Lin (short for Linda) and her middle name. Is that so strange? Not like she made up names. Not like it was a secret. My name is Jennifer but I go by Jen. It would be like me going by Jen Lynn.

That is not the point though. I am glad we are having a civil conversation though on such a touchy subject and i don't think I have anything else to say. I don't think we need to bother trying to convince each other otherwise either

Also, I see that you just joined for this discussion. I hope you decide to stick around and join us in our discussions about cats. This is a really great forum.

http://pittsburghlive.com/x/leaderti...ce=rss&feed=29

This article is about another shelter, but the folks interviewed in it do know all about Linda Bruno, and what they have to say definitely supports the positives that Jen has been posting I hope that everyone who has been there and has seen the good as well as the bad will contact her lawyer and offer to write declarations so that the judge will see both sides of the story. They will need to state their name, and how they have direct knowledge of the conditions that THEY saw and when, since it seems like the media really is focused on the sick room.

No one connected to the Orphans of the Storm shelter is supporting Linda Bruno in anyway in that article. Infact, Beth Ann Galbraith states.." Orphans of the Storm is a far cry from Tiger Ranch. "

What I am reading is that every shelter has an issue with unwanted animals being dropped off,
and every one does. I know what gets dumped at our shelters here, and what gets dumped in my very own drive way.

The article starts out with mis information, Tiger Ranch is not three hundred acres, "on the side of a mountian" (the bucolic discription from the website now closed) .It is at the end of a residential street, and is just twenty nine acres.Not to split hairs,but it was far too small for the animals that were living on it. You need five acres alone to properly support one horse, for grazing,there were eight horses seized, the property was fifteen acres shy of the gazing landed needed for the horses alone. Much of it too steep for grazing or turn out as well, let alone the rest of them.

I realise it was a rescue, but she told me herself,she breed the horses to support the Ranch, one of the many stories she has been telling.

The man who however is supporting Linda Bruno in the article is a private citizen who takes in cats himself at his two hundred acre farm. Any farmer in my area will tell you the same thing. We get all sorts of animals dropped off in our driveway, for the simple fact, they can see the barn from the road.

Boxes of kittens, puppies, I had a, what I imagine, started out as someone who got suckered into being sold a pot belly pig, that matured into, well, a pig, tied to my gate. My husband found a tiny kitten last year, tossed into our front yard, the impact so bad, the retinas emploded, the poor thing was so wormie and full of fleas, I bet it was just four weeks old. It is living quite the life across the road here, with four horses and a one eyed dog. Thank goodness my neighbor worked for a feline vet, we were gonna keep this one ourselves, but she fell in love with it, and her dog is nicer than mine.

4-H projects find their way here, a peacock, a rooster, a turkey, you name it. If you live on a farm, this happens. I swear they know my husband and I are suckers, we find homes for, or keep what is left here for us. Thank God we can.Every rural farm has this issue.

This Smith guy with the farm, got over whelmed and dumped his cats at Tiger Ranch....It was him that said " that in his opinion the recent raid on Tiger Ranch was done to generate a news story that would result in animals lovers rallying to support other shelters with their finances"

I only wish that was the case!

Ironic the guy who took as many cats as he could gather to dump on Linda Brunos place, is going to give one hundred dollars to her defense. Then he claimes he voluntered there. Sorry why not take care of the cats you took in.

This sort of case brings all kind of nut jobs out of the wood work, claiming some connection to it.

I see no support at all from OOTS in this article, only this Smith guy who claims to have a farm, took in strays and when it got too expensive, he added to the issues at Tiger Ranch by,,, dumping his cats on them

Here is yet another story, where people tried to get something done about Tiger Ranch, and a blind eye was turned..

http://www.mcall.com/news/opinion/le...,3873637.story

Read a different newspaper, get a different story.

I hope that everyone who has been there and has seen the good as well as the bad will contact her lawyer and offer to write declarations so that the judge will see both sides of the story. They will need to state their name, and how they have direct knowledge of the conditions that THEY saw and when, since it seems like the media really is focused on the sick room.

Click to expand...

I have been there, I have seen both, I have been in contact with the DA and they are gathering a great deal of evidence.

They will need pictures, dated, and rock solid stuff to stand up in court.

I, once again live not twenty minutes from Tiger Ranch, I can easily see with my own eyes what went on there, and what is going on there.

Once again, what was done on the dark will come out in the light.

Do any google search, you will find far more "evidence" from the SPCA, than you will find hard evidence to support what Linda Bruno is saying.

Gotta hand it to ya Catsknowme, it just goes to show how fast news can spread all the way across the Country . Thank you

Originally Posted by Misty Fox

If you would have read my entire post Jen, you would see that Lin Marie did not keep her end of the contract, she would not file an action to see a dog returned to a loving owner and the only home the dog had ever known.

Click to expand...

Jen was replying to the part of your post where you said that you found it "odd" that a cat sanctuary would have a contract. If you would re-read your own post, you would see that.

Also, I believe that Jen may have added the CAPS for EMPHASIS, and not to "holler" at you. She was not lashing out, IMO. Sometimes, people who post on these boards take it personally when someone has a different opinion, and a dissent is often misinterpretted as an attack. To me, it looked like Jen was presenting her side of the story which is different than yours.

As someone who was not there, I am interested in hearing from people who were there. It's all very sad.

Where have all of the cats been taken? Does anyone have any stats on how many will be available for adoption?

Perople wouldn't be dumping on the sheleter IF it was run properly.

Shelters that are good don't get closed down. They get more support.

Just the way it is.

Sounds like some folks here only visited a while ago or only saw the sanitized areas. I'm going to go with the government on this - that';s what they are paid to do.

I think those that still think this place was all light and goodness just are in denial and want to believe it was a good place - and I cannot fault them for having good hearts and wanting the believe the best. But I also do not think that view is the truth.

I think she needed to be taken down, and I am glad that she was so that the surviving animals could be properly cared for at long last.

I've seen large shelters with plenty of sick animals dropped off daily - even hourly, and they didn't look like THAT. That was just sad, deplorable, and horrid, IMO.

Originally Posted by Going Nova

Jen was replying to the part of your post where you said that you found it "odd" that a cat sanctuary would have a contract. If you would re-read your own post, you would see that.

Click to expand...

The reason I found it odd, was because Tiger Ranch then listed itself as a cat sanctuary. I should have made that point more clear, forgive me.I was then told by Lin Marie, she was not the owner of Tiger Ranch, that she worked for the three Doctors that owned it, and they did not place cats, it was a place cats came to have a forever home

I was under the impression, I was speaking with someone as familiar with the Ranch as I was. That is why I found the adoption contract, for dogs, in boilerplate odd As I did her telling me I could come get the dog, then telling me someone else took it, then two weeks later, calling me back to come get the dog, but only after ten that evening, or she was giving it to someone else the next day.

Netiquette states caps are yelling, not me, there is bold italic and underlined to add emphasis. Perhaps it is differnt on this site, I was only going by my short time here on the net Thank you for enlighting me, I am very new on this site.

I can certainly understand how common courtesy can be lost, or forgotten when people are passionate about the subject matter.

alyssa, thank you, for your words. I too have to side with the SPCA on this one. I went to college in Philly, New Bolton Center had and has a wonderful working relationship with the PSPCA. I know how hard that agency works,and how well it is run. They had to scramble coming to the other end of the State to get this done, they are doing an amazing job of sorting out this mess, and making sure each and every animal is getting the best medical care. Remember there were more than cats on that ranch, there were dogs, eight horses, (if you could have seen the condition of those horses feet, you would be in tears) a goat, and a few other assorted and sundry animals.

What a shame the Pittsburgh and Allegheny County agents did not stop this before it got so bad, and so many animals had to suffer..

Isn't this after all where any animal loves thoughts should be?

Thank you. I wish you all peace.

I can't get over how sad this story is. I agree that even if her heart is in the right place, at some point she ought to have stopped taking in the cats. I can't help but wonder how the outcome might be different if someone stepped in sooner.

It's a little bit strange that there are mixed reviews on Lin Marie and Tiger Ranch. Although, maybe it's not so strange if she was mentally unstable.

Regarding netiquette, it is easier to read something that isn't in Caps and I interpret all Caps as yelling too. However, in context of the whole reply, I believe it was emphasis (only a few words in all capitals, and no rude remarks).