Caboodle Ranch Becomes a Ghost Town
The once highly praised and beautiful sanctuary for cats becomes a ghost town, a virtual abandoned safe haven for the cats that once lived here. Gone are the 'happy tails' and curious faces that passed through this path just 5 months ago. Gone are the playful antics of hundreds of saved cats that used to run up trees, play in the tall grass or bat a bizzy ball around. When PETA and the ASPCA were contacted by "haters" of the ranch, they quickly came down to do their well known damage. The job they do best, destroying any chance that these cats had at a safe and peacceful life. A life they were already living at the ranch, some for 11 years. But these activists groups had it in their head to (as an ASPCA officer told us) "Seize first, investigate later". And with this 'policy' they turned the ranch upside down for 5 days and nights, in the rain, chasing down and terrorizing and trapping all the cats that just that Monday morning were safe in their beds enjoying a sunny sleepy morning.
After they took the caboodle cats aways to the Jacksonville ASPCA for their "rescue and treatment", the onslaught of false accusations, lies and staged photos came to the court in order to shame the man who built this oasis and saved over a thousand cats over the years. These cats had no where else to go. There were no other no kill shelters that could take them. They came to the ranch from all over the US and other countries. But that did not matter to the ASPCA or PETA. They continued to drag Craig Grant and its workers through the mud telling everyone that they were horrible people and cruel to boot. The "haters" made it their mission "to destroy Craig Grant and Caboodle Ranch" and despite the most gallant of efforts and thousands of dollars in legal fees, they succeeded. The ASPCA recently held an adoption event on August 11th and 12th. Succeeding in adopting out only about 300 cats of the 650+ that were taken away. So what's the next step? More adoption events? A court order AT LEAST prevents them from euthanizing any of the remaining cats. But that does little to ease the bone marrow deep grief that Craig Grant, the workers and suporters feel.
Craig is a broken man. Not a man that has given up, but a man who has had his 'family' taken from him, his dream destroyed, his ranch demolished after putting 250K into it to make it a magical joyful place for the cats. He is a man that has been brutally beaten down at every turn for the mere fact that he wanted to make a difference and give people an alternative to euthanasia or having a cat live forever in a cage. The level of injustice that has been done to this man, this ranch and most of all the cats is an atrocity to the so called legal system. In a court order, Judge Parker said that Criag will have his personal cats returned to him. He has over 12 personal cats and the two Great Pyranese that were the watch dogs. The judge only mentioned 5 cats. So why return his cats if this man is cruel and neglectful in the care and treatment of animals? Exactly. The county of Madison had an agenda that involved closing the ranch altogether and went about it so corruptly it's a wonder that Dateline or 20/20 hasn't been here yet to investigate. And we hope they DO come. This cannot happen again. Every rescue and every shelter and every person out there that is trying to save lives, to make a difference will be next, because PETA and the ASPCA feel and are treated, as if they are above the law.
Someone has to step up and stop this insanity. These precious cats were happy. And the people behind the events that have taken place from February 27th 2012 to present will be held accountable, eventually, for their atrocious actions.
The angel "Tanya" that has watched over the caboodles for several years, stands alone in a deserted "GingerBread Lane", where the cats once strolled along playing and choosing one of the many whimsical cat houses to take their naps in. This angel seems to be crying as she prays over all their little souls now.
The now abandoned GingerBread Lane, with a lone cat walking along looking for all his friends. The ASPCA literally left some cats at the ranch for dead. They overturned, emptied and locked up the dry food feeders and water bowls so that no one left behind could eat or survive. They cut open the fence and said "so any left behiind can get out and fend for themselves". It took Craig 3 weeks to be able to get back to the ranch, in that time 4 cats that had "survived" the raid starved to death and Craig found them trying to get into one of the many shelters that were either locked up or destroyed. Now why is THIS action not considered "cruelty"? Why are the ASPCA or PETA not held accountable for letting these poor cats starve to death? Since then Craig has managed to adopt out any remaining cats, 20 total, including the cat seen in this photo. And yet HE was accused of 'still having cats at the ranch'....no, the ASPCA left them there, for dead, never returned, never took any measures what so ever to ensure any that they could not catch were cared for or watched out for.
It is a hope against all odds that Caboodle Ranch will be able to ressurect itself and start anew, save more lives. But all of the legal issues are STILL not done and it has to be determined if they will allow the ranch to start again SOMEWHERE ELSE. The very first thing will be to relocate, which we are sure the county will be happy to hear. If everything was so horrid at the ranch, (and the sherriff only went by the words of haters), why didn't he ever once come to the ranch himself or personally meet with Craig Grant, and see for himself ?
With legal fees still in the thousands, the ranch still needs financial support. But what Craig and the cats that were adopted out and the ones that remain (and the dogs!) need most are your prayers. Prayers that SOMEONE out there will indeed investigate this case and make justice prevail. Make us believe in a legal system that is supposed to be there to protect our rights, not find 'loop holes' to destroy them. We don't want revenge, for revenge is unGodly, we want justice, we want the truth to be heard, we want Craig Grant, all the workers and all the caboodles past, present and future to be vindicated and assured that this will never happen again to us or anyone else.