VICTORY! ONE DOWN ONE TO GO!
After 10 long weeks of waiting and wondering and hoping and fearing and praying, the courts finally decided to end my case and return my cats. There was no ‘plea bargain’ involved. A plea bargain is only involved in a criminal case where charges have been made. There were never any charges against me. So the decision was made to return my cats after seeing that they were indeed my cats and were never caboodle cats.
The prosecuting attorney had offered me a couple ‘deals’ prior to the judge’s decision to drop my case. The ‘offers’ would have returned my cats but the stipulations in the offer was that I would leave the county in 30 days (and the 2nd offer was that I would leave the county in 6 months), that I would not be allowed to ever open up my own shelter or sanctuary, that I would not be allowed to work for a charitable organization that involved animals, that the Sherriff’s department would not be held responsible for any of the events, and if I was not gone by the 6 month time period, they would take my cats away from me…again.
Well, these ‘offers’ were not an option. Yes, I would get my cats back, but I would be stripped of all of my rights as a private citizen of America. So I decided to decline and go the long haul and go before the judge and hope that he would see the wrongfulness of this whole situation. I decided to not only fight for what I wanted but to fight for what was right. And after just one day of the hearing it was decided to return my cats to me without any restrictions on how I live, where I lived and where I chose to work.
All of this is still so surreal to me. Sitting in court to ‘prove’ that my cats were my cats seems so insane to me, that it had ever come to this. Although, I must admit, seeing how the court system works and how my attorney fought for my rights and for the lives of my cats was fascinating and educational. I felt very at ease in the courtroom, very confident, and my lawyer, Gary Brown of Live Oak, was amazing. He said I made his job easy because ‘facts and right was on my side’.
So all legalities aside, my babies are finally coming home! The ASPCA said they needed 2 weeks before they could return them to me. They are going to spay the few young cats I had and microchip all of them as well, which is greatly appreciated. However, they never bothered to ask me who needed to be fixed. All of my cats are spayed/neutered except for the youngest (5) females.
My lawyer told me that the turning point for him was when we were at the ASPCA in Jacksonville, when we were allowed to visit the cats. He said when he saw how the cats responded to the sound of my voice and came running up to the front of their cages to reach out to me with their paws, It affected him deeply and then made him angry at what these people had done to me. Let alone how they treated me at the ASPCA, like a criminal, not allowing me to touch my own cats to comfort them.
So at this point I am assuming they will be returned to me next Friday the 18th of May (which will make it 3 full months of being away from me). I am going to have a homecoming for them with my family and friends. The ASPCA will NOT be allowed into my home. We will take the carriers inside and let each cat out and return their carriers promptly. But never again will anyone be allowed into my home without a warrant. Period. My lesson was learned the hard way….Just because a person is in uniform does not mean they have the right to come into your home, and you have the right to not allow them to.
To all of you that encouraged me to stay strong, sent words of wisdom every day, signed petitions, sent help, cards and letters, emails of encouragement, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. It is what got me through some very terrible days, weeks and months. I vow to do the very same to anyone that is put in the same position as I was. This can and will happen to anyone anywhere.
On another note, the Caboodle hearing is going really well, despite what one particular person may be writing. I was there and will be there through the entire thing. Craig’s lawyer, David Collins of Monticello FL is nothing short of amazing. We can’t discuss details but we are so very confident about getting the caboodles back! Mr. Collins is a fierce entity in the courtroom and a force to be reckoned with. And he too has the facts and ‘right’ on his side. We are very anxious to get back in the courtroom to present our side. We would love for our supporters to come and sit in the ‘audience’ of the courtroom. It will bolster Craig’s spirits and fill the courtroom with positive vibes. When we know the date we will post it so that you all can come and join us to fight for the caboodles!
It is important to note that only ONE person was sitting on the prosecutions side. The people responsible for starting this nightmare were too cowardly to show up. They didn’t have their computer screens to hide behind in the courtroom so they didn’t come. Not even the girl that PETA hired, Lauren (aka Lynn etc) to spy on the ranch, was there. How pathetic. So now that it is our turn to present our side, we would love to have you all there for your support. Stay tuned for dates…
I will post photos and video of my cats’ homecoming. I want to share it with all of you, so you can see that your encouragement and support made the difference and saved their lives! Now let’s get those Caboodles home, re-open the ranch and start saving lives again! Let’s make Caboodle Ranch the first sanctuary to have their cats returned and bring PETA to their knees once and for all!
Purrs and hugs
~Nanette~