Attorney criticizes publicity over cats
An initial court appearance has been scheduled for two people accused of animal cruelty because of the discovery of about 420 cats living in squalor near Blanchard, Idaho, this week.
However, an attorney for Cheryl Perkins, 58, and Ed Criswell, 43, decried the manner in which a search warrant was conducted this week on the Voice of the Animals Camelot Sanctuary, saying it amounted to an egregious violation of personal privacy and property.
“The thing that upsets me most about this is when I see news photographers in my clients’ bedroom. I question the authority of any law enforcement officer to invite media into my clients’ living quarters. These people haven’t even been arrested,” said Richard Kuck, attorney for the sanctuary.
Nothing in the law prohibits the media from being allowed on the scene, said Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Louis Marshall. He said humane society officials conducting what they called the largest animal seizure in Idaho history had a desire for publicity to assist in adoptions or securing donations for the cats’ care. He said 420 cats had been found in the eight trailers on the property.
A tour Thursday revealed animal feces and urine covering many surfaces of the trailers, including living quarters and food preparation areas. Veterinarians and volunteers conducting the seizure wore Tyvek suits and respirators, said Dr. Tami McReynolds, who is executive director of the Lewis Clark Animal Shelter in Lewiston. McReynolds was among the veterinarians on the scene this week.
“The charges stem from the physical condition of the sanctuary,” Marshall said. “It’s the condition of the facilities that make it a crime.”
At least some of the cats already are being offered for adoption, said Gail Mackie, executive director of SpokAnimal CARE in Spokane. She said 14 of the cats, mostly Siamese or Siamese crosses, are available immediately at the shelter at 710 N. Napa St. McReynolds said the cats would eventually be distributed across the region to shelters that have room.
“We have one outstanding black-and-white cat that wants to go home desperately with someone,” said Mackie. “He grabs you and pulls you in and purrs and rubs up against you.”
In addition, Kuck said his clients are not mentally ill animal hoarders, as they have been portrayed by humane society representatives. He said they are animal lovers who oppose killing animals.
“Everyone dropping off their unwanted cats has caused them a great deal of stress, but their ideological makeup was such that they can’t say no,” Kuck said. “They were doing the best they could.”
Kuck contends that the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office exceeded the bounds of the search warrant by removing property from the site. He also wants to know how many cats, if any, have been put to death. Humane society officials could not be reached to respond to that question Friday.
Though Perkins and Criswell surrendered the site to authorities Wednesday morning when the search warrant was served, Kuck said, they did so under threats and duress.
“My clients are freaking out,” Kuck said. “They have a lot of affinity for those animals.”
That description was echoed by Dr. Bob Stoll, a Sandpoint veterinarian who has cared for Perkins and Criswell’s animals on occasion. He never visited their home and said he’s “appalled” if what he’s read in the newspaper is true. But, Stoll said, Perkins and Criswell were “kind, caring, humane people who always followed my directions with their animals.” He said Bonner County is ignoring the larger issue of how to handle stray cats, which have no place to go.
“The local animal shelter that’s privately funded is inundated with requests to take stray cats,” Stoll said. “What is the humane society going to do with the next 300 or 400 cats that will be here within days?”