Sep30
A Triple Threat (to Animals)
Posted at 03:50 PM | Permalink
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Comments (7)
As you can imagine, PETA hears about lots of cases of cruelty to animals. For folks who love animals as much as we do, that's never fun, but we can't make things better if we bury our heads in the sand. Still, it takes a lot to really strike a nerve with us, but one recent case stands out.
Carrie Cagata, James Cullen, and Shannon Kraham of Fort Myers, Florida, have been charged with multiple counts of cruelty to animals and animal abandonment. Lee County deputies reportedly found more than 80 dogs, cats, and other animals who had been entrusted to the trio malnourished or dead. While that's awful, it's not entirely unusual (unfortunately), but this is: Cagata is the owner of My Best Friend Inc., a supposed animal rescue organization. Detectives are alleging that she adopted abandoned animals from animal shelters and then tried to sell them for a profit—if the animals didn't sell, the detectives claim, they were apparently shipped off to "the farm," where they were left to starve.
While starving and abandoning animals is horrible enough, to do so while allegedly pretending to be rescuing them is over-the-top hideous—and an insult to the wonderful people who operate legitimate rescue groups. We fired off a letter to the head of the felony division of the Florida attorney's office, demanding that this case be prosecuted vigorously.
The letter also stated, "On behalf of our thousands of members and supporters in Florida, we respectfully ask that, if convicted and in addition to serving a period of incarceration, the three defendants (and any codefendants later named) be required to undergo psychological evaluations followed by mandatory counseling at their own expense." You can read the full letter here.
Posted by Jeff Mackey
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I HOPE THEY ROT IN JAIL FOR WHAT THEY DID. LET US KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO ALL THE RESCUED ANIMALS.MAYBE THERE WILL BE A HAPPY ENDING IN THIS FOR SOME OF THE ANIMALS THAT WERE RESCUED.
Posted by: SASHA | September 30, 2008 06:17 PM
Why can't people see that animals are 'people' too in the way that they feel? It's just so crazy how we view animals. Hasn't the general public attended school and been taught the fact that we are also an ANIMAL? Or perhaps we are the alien invader from another planet who kills all the occupants of earth for our own self serving objectives. I think all those late night horror flicks are really a depiction of HUMAN beings! I think we are disgusting in so many ways when our heads are buried!
Posted by: Jill | September 30, 2008 10:25 PM
I'm so sick of hearing how animals are always being treated. I think these peple should be put in jail for the longest possible sentence & be treat exactly how they treated these poor defendless
animals. Starve them!!!
Posted by: Sandra Hunt | October 1, 2008 12:02 PM
None cares, people always say they are helping but who do you bielive now days. I think these freak people's sentence should be "starved to death"...
Posted by: Sar | October 1, 2008 02:37 PM
These people will all be punished by God. God spelled backwards is DOG......
Give love........get love.
Give pain...receive pain.
Posted by: Donna Arce | October 1, 2008 10:08 PM
One of our rescued dogs came from this place via a PetSmart Saturday adoption last christmas. I've also written a letter asking for full prosecution and a psychiatric evaluation. I'm just thankful Reese found his way to our home when he did.
Posted by: Ashley | October 21, 2008 10:55 AM
There is a lot of money to be made in animal rescue by clever business people. This may be a situation where an animal lover got in over her head thinking she could make a living with animal rescue. No-kill shelters frequently cherry pick adoptable dogs from kill-shelters. They leave behind those they cannot easily flip for profit. Some presidents of rescues earn in excess of $300,000 a year. It is common for these no-kills to have sanctuaries, where they house the unadoptables.
This woman may simply have been a lousy businesswoman turned animal hoarder. Which isn't to say, she should be allowed to continue, but on the facts we have been provided with, it isnt possible to determine her intent.
Posted by: Monica | November 11, 2008 11:13 AM