Re: Dozens Of Dead Cats Removed From Woman's Garage

Why didn't the shelter check on her before giving out the cats, I wonder?

Stacey :) (who remembers the trouble the wonderful woman went through with
Jim, Zack and Fliss)

"Magic Mood Jeep©" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> http://www.theindychannel.com/news/2678796/detail.html
>
> Dozens Of Dead Cats Removed From Woman's Garage
> Animal Shelter Workers Stunned By Neglect Case
> POSTED: 10:08 a.m. EST December 3, 2003
> RENSSELAER, Ind. -- Officials at Jasper County's animal shelter were
> reviewing pet adoption procedures after authorities removed nearly 50 dead
> cats from the garage of a woman who offered to help find new homes for
> animals.
> "We love these animals," shelter employee Karen Adams said Tuesday. "We
> thought we were doing a favor by letting them go with her, never dreaming
> ... we thought we were saving lives."
> Prosecutors in LaPorte County charged Kathy Shotsberger, 45, of Michigan
> City, with seven counts of animal neglect. She was released Monday on $300
> bond. She could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine on each
> count if convicted.
> The Associated Press was unable to contact Shotsberger for comment
> Wednesday. There was no number under her name in published listings for
> Michigan City, and she was believed to be staying with her mother in
> Chicago.
> Police arrested Shotsberger on Sunday after officers found cages full of
> dead cats, birds and rabbits stacked throughout her garage. In a nearby
> modular home officers found 29 live animals, mostly beagles, inside cages
or
> locked in rooms with floors soaked in waste.
> Some of the cages had been loaned to Shotsberger by workers at the Jasper
> County shelter in Rensselaer.
> Director Paula Wilcox said Shotsberger first took four dogs and 21 cats
from
> the shelter in April 2002 with the understanding that she would find new
> owners for the animals. She last visited the shelter on Nov. 20, when she
> was allowed to leave with six cats. She was not charged a fee.
> "It's hard to believe what happened," said Wilcox, one of two workers at
the
> northwest Indiana shelter. "We didn't suspect anything. Kathy had been
here
> many times."
> Adams said Shotsberger returned to the shelter frequently, bringing orders
> for specific animals she said she could place with families in her area.
> Authorities said it appeared Shotsberger was taking the animals home and
> leaving them in cages without food or water. Police said she apparently
> became overwhelmed by the number of animals in her care.
> Wilcox said she and Adams may begin checking with other animal shelters
and
> police to see if they had received any complaints before releasing animals
> to rescue groups. But with a staff of two and one animal control officer,
> such procedures could be time-consuming.
> Shotsberger also adopted two beagles from the Porter County animal shelter
> on separate occasions about three years ago, said Sandy Ogle, its
director.
> "That's the only contact we had with her," she said.
>
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