Muffin
(Click photo for an enlargment)
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I just interviewed Ron Mason, arrested owner of the orange tabby that was nearly strangled by the officer who may not have been Linda Ortega, identified by the Daily News as the detective who "helped free an angry orange tabby caught in some debris." Mr. Mason thought it was another female Hispanic officer.
The poled cat's name is Muffin. Mason has owned Muffin for four years. Muffin is not ill and is not taking medication. He is being held at East Valley along with many of the other cats as evidence animals.
A neighbor told Mason that the cat was walking towards the officer who aggressively threw the loop over Muffin's neck and then hoisted him into the air as shown in the photo. Mason showed me the small room in which this allegedly occurred. There was absolutely nothing in that room. (Mason was not there; he was handcuffed in a police car. This is what he was told. The photo shows what appears to be a small refigerator in the background.) The cat was friendly, he could have been picked up and placed in a carrier according to the neighbor. This probably is not true, as few cats would be friendly with 10 strangers chasing cats around the house with nets and poles.
Dana's article said there were 70 sick cats. The numbers of cats involved varies from source to source, from 38 to 70. Mason said only one cat was ill from an upper respiratory infection, for which the cat was being treated.
Mason said that he was told that 12 kittens failed field testing for panleukopenia and were killed. However, subsequent test analyses done at the EV lab proved negative. That is, the cats were killed because of false positive field tests. I am going to have to ask the EV vet about this.
Mason's refrigerator full of cat medications were seized along with all of his veterinary treatment records as well as his carriers. Therefore, he cannot transport any animal to a vet or anywhere for that matter.
He was charged with felony animal neglect and released after a relative paid a fat bond.
I did not see any cat that appeared sick when I was there. Animal services mercifully left the moms behind at the residence and only took the males. He was told not to have any of the moms spayed until any kittens were 8 weeks old and then they could be brought in for adoption. Maybe Ed won't turn these kittens away.
Personally, I thought the smell was awful, but not enough to warrant the use of respiratory masks as the photos showed. The odor did waft into the street and neighbors could find it obnoxious. There was debris everywhere. BUT, none of the cats looked ill, scrawny, injured or sick in any way except the one black cat in Daily News article. The cats were well taken care of and there was no neglect.
The poled cat's name is Muffin. Mason has owned Muffin for four years. Muffin is not ill and is not taking medication. He is being held at East Valley along with many of the other cats as evidence animals.
A neighbor told Mason that the cat was walking towards the officer who aggressively threw the loop over Muffin's neck and then hoisted him into the air as shown in the photo. Mason showed me the small room in which this allegedly occurred. There was absolutely nothing in that room. (Mason was not there; he was handcuffed in a police car. This is what he was told. The photo shows what appears to be a small refigerator in the background.) The cat was friendly, he could have been picked up and placed in a carrier according to the neighbor. This probably is not true, as few cats would be friendly with 10 strangers chasing cats around the house with nets and poles.
Dana's article said there were 70 sick cats. The numbers of cats involved varies from source to source, from 38 to 70. Mason said only one cat was ill from an upper respiratory infection, for which the cat was being treated.
Mason said that he was told that 12 kittens failed field testing for panleukopenia and were killed. However, subsequent test analyses done at the EV lab proved negative. That is, the cats were killed because of false positive field tests. I am going to have to ask the EV vet about this.
Mason's refrigerator full of cat medications were seized along with all of his veterinary treatment records as well as his carriers. Therefore, he cannot transport any animal to a vet or anywhere for that matter.
He was charged with felony animal neglect and released after a relative paid a fat bond.
I did not see any cat that appeared sick when I was there. Animal services mercifully left the moms behind at the residence and only took the males. He was told not to have any of the moms spayed until any kittens were 8 weeks old and then they could be brought in for adoption. Maybe Ed won't turn these kittens away.
Personally, I thought the smell was awful, but not enough to warrant the use of respiratory masks as the photos showed. The odor did waft into the street and neighbors could find it obnoxious. There was debris everywhere. BUT, none of the cats looked ill, scrawny, injured or sick in any way except the one black cat in Daily News article. The cats were well taken care of and there was no neglect.
Mr. Mason is a part-time construction worker no longer able to take the physical abuse of full-time laborer employment. He says that at the end of the week, whatever he has made, he takes to his vet to pay the cat's medical bills.
By the way, according to Mason, one of the cats LAAS carted away was a neighbor's.
More to come, including photos.
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There is no field test for panleukemia. They can do a blood test to check white cell count but the real way to see it is through a feces exam. Both of these would have to be done in the shelter, not in the field. It sounds like the Department libeled this man by telling the media that his cats had panleukemia. Notice, they removed the Department press release from the website. They know they did something wrong, besides hanging the mans cat by the neck.
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't the Departmenet call cat rescue groups to go and help the man spay and neuter then place animals? Why take the animals and just kill them? Why not get the volunteers together to help clean the mans home? Why just arrest him, impound the animals and kill them? Animals die, money is wasted and the guy doesn't get any help.
Research has shown that arresting hoarders does not solve the problem. They need interventions. Why does the Department fail to heed research? Maybe their officers need more training.
That's awful.
ReplyDeleteSomebody ought to do something.