The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Caroline’s Kids cruelty trial begins
Lake Humane Society seized 161 cats from Concord shelter Nov. 28
Four employees of a private nokill Concord Township cat animal shelter went on trial Aug. 2 in Painesville Municipal Court on misdemeanor animal cruelty charges.
Caroline’s Kids Pet Rescue owners Tom and Judie Brown and workers Ellen Distler, 65, of Chagrin Falls, and Virginia WolfordLee, 65, of Mentor, are each charged with 24 counts.
Each count is punishable by up to 90 days in jail and/or a $750 fine.
Lake Humane Society seized 161 cats — four of them dead — from the shelter Nov. 28 after receiving a complaint about the conditions of multiple animals. One hundred animals were allowed to remain after the raid.
“Is it a crime to rescue sick and dying cats? That’s really the ultimate issue,” defense attorney Gregory Sasse said in his opening statement.
Sasse added that the Browns had a stellar reputation for their work prior to the seizure, with an international following in 37 different countries. Judie Brown was once a top 10 finalist in Animal Planet’s
Cat Hero of the Year contest.
“These people went over $30,000 in debt taking care of the animals,” Sasse said. “They acted out of love and self-sacrifice, and what they thought was a spiritual calling to take in sick and dying cats. These poor creatures had nowhere else to go. (The defendants) are four gentle, elderly people. These people are not guilty of any crime.”
Special Prosecutor J. Jeffrey Holland agreed that all four on trial had kind intentions.
“This is not a case of anybody being a bad person,” Holland said. “They devoted their time and energy into creating a cat rescue. What could be nicer? But if (the animals) begin to suffer, you’ve done something wrong. This is a case of animal neglect.”
Megan Moran, a North Olmsted woman who reported Caroline’s Kids to the Humane Society, was the first witness to take the stand.
Moran testified she toured the Morley Road cat shelter in November 2016 while transporting a cat there through her volunteer work at Cats Meow Rescue & Adoption Center.
Moran said she and her mother immediately were taken aback by what they saw at Caroline’s Kids.
“In the feline leukemia room, there was nothing quarantining those cats from other animals,” she said. “The rooms were separated by chicken wire, and no protective clothing was required.”
Moran added it appeared that the litter boxes had not been changed in several days and she noticed mucus and signs of respiratory issues in at least half of the cats she saw.
“It was absolutely devastating to me as a cat lover,” she said. “The cats were so starved for attention, they were jumping on us.”
Moran said she also was disturbed by the fact that the employees told her they never euthanize — even when a cat is suffering.
“They believe life is better than death no matter what,” she said.
Madison Township resident Linda Davis testified that she took her cat, Bob, to the facility because she was no longer able to care for him because of a severe urinary tract infection.
Davis said Judie Brown admonished her for an apparent lack of interest when she called about a month later for an update on the cat and was later told that the facility spent $3,000 on veterinary bills for Bob.
Davis said she gave Caroline’s Kids two checks totaling $250 to help defray some of the costs.
She testified that she contacted the facility one other time to check on the cat when she noticed he was not on the shelter’s live kitty cam video and was told he was doing fine.
Then she went to Florida with her husband and received an unexpected phone call from the Humane Society.
“I learned Bob had passed away in November 2016,” Davis said.
Eight jurors will decide the defendants’ fates. Testimony in the case was expected to continue Aug. 3 before visiting Judge David L. Fuhry.
Meanwhile, the Browns’ $5 million civil suit against the Humane Society remains pending in federal court.