BEAR WITH ME WHILE I PUT THIS PAGE TOGETHER
Lies are in red
Things that make you go hmmmm are in green
Things that do not pertain to anything regarding the raid are in orange
Anything added in a report by Samantha Lee is in purple
TO SEE ACTUAL PROOF OF THE LIES IN RED CLICK HERE
Source: The Corydon Democrat
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Depauw couple charged with child neglect, animal cruelty
by Alan Stewart
December 20, 2011
A Depauw couple was in Harrison Superior Court Monday after being charged with four counts of Class A misdemeanor cruelty to an animal and one count of Class D felony neglect of a dependent.
Randall T. and Samantha Sue Lee, both of the 5700 block of Milltown-Frenchtown Road, spent less than an hour in jail and were released after each posted a $200 surety bond.
The Lees were charged after 36 cats, three dogs and four chickens were removed from their home on Nov. 17, and the Department of Child Services told the couple that their two children had to stay elsewhere until the home's living conditions were deemed more suitable. The children returned home after a couple of days.
Four of the cats have since died.
"The scene inside the home shocks the consciousness of a seasoned public servant. It was something that had to be seen to be believed," Harrison County Animal Control Officer Bruce LaHue said last month. "The smell of feces, urine, molding clothing and rotting food caused your nostrils to swell shut and made it difficult to breathe. There was feline diarrhea on the floor, and ... there was two inches of water in the basement and a mattress where it appeared one of the children slept. The entire scene was absolutely unbelievable."
Samantha Lee runs an in-home, no-kill cat rescue shelter under the name Frisky Felines Foundation. One of the mission statements of the organization, which doesn't appear to have any type of nonprofit status, says, "We believe every cat has the right to live and has the right to live free of hunger, cold, abuse and loneliness."
On her Facebook page, Samantha Lee says she has worked for Barbour Lane Animal Hospital in Louisville. Barbour Lane would only say that she had worked there but it was several years ago; they declined further comment.
"This case has put a tremendous strain on Harrison County's Animal Control. We have had to ask the public to wait a little longer for many of the routine services we normally provide," LaHue said Monday. "The influx of sick animals has also forced the temporarily shutdown of our adoption operation, which usually picks up this time of year.
"It has been extremely hard on the staff and volunteers," he said. "The positive side of this case is, thanks to the cooperative efforts of the Harrison County Sheriff's Department, the Harrison County Prosecutor's Office, Milltown Marshal Ray Saylor, the State Board of Animal Health, Smith Animal Clinic and countless donors, we have removed animals from harm's way and provided them with the care necessary to live a normal life. We did our job with the laws we have to work with. The animals in this case are now receiving humane care and can be considered safe.
"As for Randall and Samantha Lee, they are innocent until proven guilty," he said. "Their fate is in the hands of our justice system and God. I'm OK with that because in God I have faith."
The case has generated a veterinary bill of $7,400, most of which will be absorbed by donations, LaHue said.
A report was filed last week by District 8 Field Technician Dr. Jodi Lovejoy of the Indiana State Board of Animal Health who evaluated the animals and rated them using the Purina Body Condition Scoring System. The animals were rated on a 1.0 to 9.0 scale where 1.0 is emaciated, 9.0 is extremely obese and normal body condition is 5.0. The presence or absence of periodontal disease was also noted in the report.
She said that of the 36 cats, 21 scored in the 1.0 to 2.0 range, and nine others were in the 2.5 to 3.5 range. Six of the cats scored in the 4.0 to 4.5 range.
Of the dogs, one was scored 7.0 (heavy) while the other two were in the normal range of 4.5 to 5.0. One of the dogs also tested positive for heartworms.
Two of the four chickens were in thin body condition, while the other two were in good condition.
Lovejoy noted that half of the cats had an active upper respiratory infection at the time she evaluated them, and some of the cats were infected with feline infectious peritonitis, Bordetella bronchiseptica, Chlamydophila felis and Mycoplasma felis. Both C. felis and M. felis may cause disease or may be present in healthy cats. Death rate in cats showing clinical signs of FIP is approximately 95 percent.
Twenty-two of the cats had eye problems such as redness and discharge.
Lovejoy said the only two cats known to be vaccinated for rabies were two feral cats. The Lees did not provide rabies vaccination information for the majority of the cats and none of the dogs. (Rabies vaccination of all dogs, cats and ferrets over three months of age is required in Indiana.)
Lovejoy said several photos of living conditions of the animals as provided by LaHue showed multiple litter boxes, most of which contained substantial amounts of cat feces, and the presence of cat feces outside of the litter boxes. Some of the feces noted were not properly formed, indicating the cat(s) had diarrhea. Feces were documented around floor vents and a door, she said.
The three dogs were kept in kennels. A Dalmatian was kept on the Lees' porch in a cage that did not provide adequate room for movement of the animal, nor was it able to separate itself from its bodily waste.
A black Lab-type dog was housed next to the house in a kennel that had no flooring. The kennel was muddy and wet, and the dog had no dry area to sit or lay down, the report said.
A chocolate Lab had a doghouse in its kennel. The ground surface of the kennel area appeared to be extremely muddy and wet, and there appeared to be little to no bedding present.
Lovejoy expressed concern about the cats' living conditions in the Lees' home, as well.
The photos "show large volumes of assorted material inside the home and sharp objects being present. These two situations can lead to possible entrapment and/or physical trauma to animals (or people) living within the residence," the report reads. "Additional photos showed the presence of an excessive amount of fecal material."
In Lovejoy's conclusion about the animals, she said, "Mrs. Lee states (on her website) that she worked as a veterinary technician for six years and has an educational background in animal care. With this in mind, it is difficult to understand how she allows mingling of clinically ill cats with other cats, how she does not practice any type of biosecurity to prevent or decrease the likelihood of disease transmission from animal to animal, such as quarantining of new or ill cats, and practice good hygiene such as removing fecal material on a daily basis. ... Additionally, with her self-reported medical background, she should be keenly aware of the health implications for people being around ill animals and living in a feces contaminated environment.
"The health and well-being of the cats are in immediate jeopardy and require immediate intervention, veterinary examination and treatment. The health and well-being of the dogs are not in immediate jeopardy but are lacking required care."
"There appears to be an overall disregard for the health and well-being of the animals owned and cared for by Randall and Samantha Lee. Their lack of adequate care for the animals, the cats in particular, indicates that they are either unable or unwilling to provide normal, common care for the animals they own."
On Jan. 14 of last year, 21 animals were seized from the same house and some had to be euthanized. Her children were required to leave the home then, too, but criminal charges were not filed by then-prosecutor Dennis Byrd.
THE LEE'S REBUTTAL TO THIS NEWS REPORT.............
"The scene inside the home shocks the consciousness of a seasoned public servant. It was something that had to be seen to be believed," Harrison County Animal Control Officer Bruce LaHue said last month. "The smell of feces, urine, molding clothing and rotting food caused your nostrils to swell shut and made it difficult to breathe. There was feline diarrhea on the floor, and ... there was two inches of water in the basement and a mattress where it appeared one of the children slept. The entire scene was absolutely unbelievable."
This is stated by someone that Samantha Lee had filed a complaint about. Each person, LaHue, Saylor and Gilley were all named in the tort claim filed by Samantha Lee. They claim smelling feces, urine, molding clothes and rotted food. However, there was no air quality test done until 6 days after the raid that came back to a level of 3. During the trial the health department testified to the fact that it was done 6 days later and when the prosecutor asked him to explain what a level of 3 would be the health department said it is the same as the air breathing in the court room that day. So they want to believe the air quality went from "caused your notrils to swell shut and made it difficult to breathe" to the air quality of the Harrison County Superior Court room.
LaHue Claims there was feline diarrhea on the floor, yes, there was, because there were many cats in the house, the home was staked out from noon to 5:30, the litter boxes were not overflowing but did need to be scooped by that point and the cats used the area by the back door which is where the litter box is located. Common sense tells you when you have a lot of cats you have to monitor the litter boxes, this doesn't mean that the litter boxes were not maintained everyday, because if they weren't then you would not of been able to see the fresh litter in the boxes.
LaHue claims there was 2 inches of water in the basement, yet their own photos show a basement with a partially dried floor. He also claims to see a mattress in the basement where one of the children slept. Yes, my 19 year old son slept there the first week of October when we, his parents, forced him to move out of the basement to the living room, which caused the house to be in complete disarray between trying to bring his items upstairs, and our personal items, of which had to be washed and find a new place for. Emptying out a full size basement that had been flooded is not an overnight project.
Samantha Lee runs an in-home, no-kill cat rescue shelter under the name Frisky Felines Foundation. One of the mission statements of the organization, which doesn't appear to have any type of nonprofit status, says, "We believe every cat has the right to live and has the right to live free of hunger, cold, abuse and loneliness."
Allen Stewart, the newspaper writer claims I had no nonprofit status. First of all, I do not have to have a nonprofit status to run a rescue in Indiana. Second, I was in the process of it being done and has since been approved and now Frisky Felines Foundation is a 501c(3) nonprofit rescue.
"This case has put a tremendous strain on Harrison County's Animal Control. We have had to ask the public to wait a little longer for many of the routine services we normally provide," LaHue said Monday. "The influx of sick animals has also forced the temporarily shutdown of our adoption operation, which usually picks up this time of year.
LaHue says "the influx of sick animals". My "animals" were not sick. I had a handful of cats with an upper respiratory infection in which I gave LaHue nearly $100 worth of medication for them, in which he testified he refused to give. The animal controls veterinarian, Dr. Smith testified that he ordered medication to replace my medication and LaHue failed to pick it up for days. The documentation shows the first dose of medication ANY of these cats received was on November 22, 2011, this is 5 days after the raid, but yet the "influx of sick animals" came from my house? NO, the influx of sick cats came from LaHue abusing my cats by withholding much needing medication.
She said that of the 36 cats, 21 scored in the 1.0 to 2.0 range, and nine others were in the 2.5 to 3.5 range. Six of the cats scored in the 4.0 to 4.5 range.
So Dr. Lovejoy claims that these cats were in these body conditions. There are only 2 weights on 43 animals. Why? You can look at the photos and tell these cats are not in this condition. I have proof that some of these cats scoring 1's were at optimum weight, because Gizmo had surgery on 11/8/11, Speck weighed almost 9 pounds when he was seen on 11/7/11 and he scored a 3, Kenya was seen by her vet for a URI on 11/14/11 and the vet said she was underweight, which is a 4, however on 11/21/11 Lovejoy said that she scored a BCS of 1. October 13, 2011 5 cats were spayed and neutered, the majority of these cats scored a 1. Cappi was one of these cats that scored a 1, however she was a kitten, she weighed 6 pounds on 10/13/11 when she was spayed and she is one of the cats weighed on 11/17/11 with a weight of 6 pounds. So if she weighed 6 pounds at the time of the spay and she exhibited a BCS of 1 why did the vet spay such an emaciated cat, furthermore, why did she not say anything to me about he being so grossly underweight?
Lovejoy noted that half of the cats had an active upper respiratory infection at the time she evaluated them, and some of the cats were infected with feline infectious peritonitis, Bordetella bronchiseptica, Chlamydophila felis and Mycoplasma felis. Both C. felis and M. felis may cause disease or may be present in healthy cats. Death rate in cats showing clinical signs of FIP is approximately 95 percent.
Twenty-two of the cats had eye problems such as redness and discharge.
Lovejoy says half of the cats had an active upper respiratory infection at the time she evaluated them, which was November 21, 2011, 4 days after the raid. So we went from a handful of cats to 1/2, that would be 18 cats. First of all, there are 2 things here. Look at the intake photos, well the ones I was given. Supposibly these were taken on 11/18/11, look at their eyes, how many do you see that have any visible signs of a uri? An active URI is one that has goopy or runny eyes, sometimes redness and a snotty nose. But when you look at these photos, keep in mind, I did have a handful of cats with a URI that did not receive ANY medication until AFTER Lovejoy saw them. Also, there is no indication any cat had FIP, as a matter of fact when Dr. Smith was deposed he had trouble talking about which cat had FIP, he talked about Garfield having it but ended up claiming Abbigayle was the one that had it. During his deposition he claims no necropsy was done, then during the trial claims the paperwork was lost.
Lovejoy then claims 22 of the cats had eye problems such as redness and discharge
To see the intake photos click here which shows it is impossible that 22 of the cats had eye problems such as redness and discharge
Lovejoy said several photos of living conditions of the animals as provided by LaHue showed multiple litter boxes, most of which contained substantial amounts of cat feces, and the presence of cat feces outside of the litter boxes. Some of the feces noted were not properly formed, indicating the cat(s) had diarrhea. Feces were documented around floor vents and a door, she said.
As I already explained, we were staked out for 5 1/2 hours. 2 of the cats were being treated for Coccidia. No cat had actual diarrhea but these 2 got loose stools from being on the medication. As you see Dr. Lovejoy said feces was found around floor vents, well that would be 1 floor vent, which is next to the backdoor, which is where the litter box was and still is.
The three dogs were kept in kennels. A Dalmatian was kept on the Lees' porch in a cage that did not provide adequate room for movement of the animal, nor was it able to separate itself from its bodily waste.
This is not true. Brownie is an outside dog and was in a kennel, Coal was in a kennel because I was cleaning house and did not want to tether him outside and did not want him with Brownie as he was not our dog and I did not have time to supervise them. The third one was our puppy Bindie who was in her training crate on the front porch. She had plenty of room for her to move, she didn't not need enough space to separate her from her bodily waste because the sole purpose of a training crate is to housebreak her and train her that she can be alone in a crate. As a matter of fact I had put a pillow in the crate with her and she tore it up.
A black Lab-type dog was housed next to the house in a kennel that had no flooring. The kennel was muddy and wet, and the dog had no dry area to sit or lay down, the report said.
A chocolate Lab had a doghouse in its kennel. The ground surface of the kennel area appeared to be extremely muddy and wet, and there appeared to be little to no bedding present.
So here it is claimed that Coal the black lab was housed next to the house in a kennel that had no flooring. Well Coal was in the backyard in a kennel behind Brownie, Coal had not been in a kennel by the house since we got him as we moved him inside. He preferred to be with other dogs though. No there was no flooring other than the earth. The kennel was muddy and wet, but had started drying out, so not all of the kennel was muddy.
The chocolate Lab was Brownie, who was an outside dog, she did have a dog house and she had no bedding because as much bedding that I have bought for her she would NEVER get in her dog house. So I figured it was better she had none and take shelter in her house than to have a nice bedding and her stand/sleep outside the dog house.
The photos "show large volumes of assorted material inside the home and sharp objects being present. These two situations can lead to possible entrapment and/or physical trauma to animals (or people) living within the residence," the report reads. "Additional photos showed the presence of an excessive amount of fecal material."
Yes the photos do show large volumes of assorted material inside the home because as I have said before, our basement flooded and we were cleaning it. LaHue, Saylor, Gilley as well as CPS was told by me the minute they walked in my house "excuse the mess we have been cleaning our basement after a flood".
Sharp objects? There were no sharp objects in the house in the manner in which she is talking. Possible entrapment or physical trauma? Really? I'm disabled. I have to have clear walk ways and I cannot stand when my house is a mess because I fear if I should ever need an ambulance, that is way the basement cleaning was done in stages so the house would not get ran over with clutter. Yes the house was a mess on this day, but it was because I put a cat and my son, as well as a home that told me she was getting evicted if I didn't help her over my housework. I would do it again if I had to, well except helping another person in need.
In Lovejoy's conclusion about the animals, she said, "Mrs. Lee states (on her website) that she worked as a veterinary technician for six years and has an educational background in animal care. With this in mind, it is difficult to understand how she allows mingling of clinically ill cats with other cats, how she does not practice any type of biosecurity to prevent or decrease the likelihood of disease transmission from animal to animal, such as quarantining of new or ill cats, and practice good hygiene such as removing fecal material on a daily basis. ... Additionally, with her self-reported medical background, she should be keenly aware of the health implications for people being around ill animals and living in a feces contaminated environment.
In reply to Lovejoys comment about me, no one at any time before the trial asked me if any cats were quarantined, however, they removed Kenya from a cage and 4 kittens with a uri from a cage because they were being kept away from the other cats. And yes, with my "self-reported" medical background I am keenly aware of the health implication for people being around ill animals and living in a feces contaminated environment. My animals were not "sick" in a manner to infect humans, nor was my family and our animals living in a feces contaminated environment, what happens in a matter of hours because people are lurking illegally around your house and your animals deficate in places they normally don't isn't "living in a contaminated environment".
"The health and well-being of the cats are in immediate jeopardy and require immediate intervention, veterinary examination and treatment. The health and well-being of the dogs are not in immediate jeopardy but are lacking required care."
The cats were not in immediate jeopardy until LaHue got his hands on them. LaHue is the one that caused them to die. The dogs were not lacking required care. Coal supposedly had heartworms, but yet animal control left him untreated. He was not our dog. No one has ever mentioned any "required care" the dogs needed except Coal having heartworms, but yet was left untreated by them once they discovered it.
"There appears to be an overall disregard for the health and well-being of the animals owned and cared for by Randall and Samantha Lee. Their lack of adequate care for the animals, the cats in particular, indicates that they are either unable or unwilling to provide normal, common care for the animals they own."
On Jan. 14 of last year, 21 animals were seized from the same house and some had to be euthanized. Her children were required to leave the home then, too, but criminal charges were not filed by then-prosecutor Dennis Byrd.
Lovejoy feels there to be an overall disregard for the health and well-being of the animals owned and cared for by us. That the lack of adequate care for the animals, cats in particular indicates that we are either unable or unwilling to provide normal, common care for the animals we own, however, my vets bills I think speak differently. You must look at the big picture here, a flooded basement, a sick cat, a sick child, and I was trying to help prevent someone from losing her home. At no point did LaHue ever say to clean up, vet animals and he will monitor me, because he knows I'm innocent. It was all a ploy to get back at me for filing an intent to sue him and the county.
January 14, 2010, LaHue to help Shannon Ambrose a CPS caseworker that asked us on 5 different days to agree to her opening a case on us removed all the cats, left the dog, chickens and fish. Only to kill those cats 18 days later, the tort claim I filed was to get those cats back, I had no idea when I filed it that they were dead. So you see, he agenda was to damage my credibility when he would of had to answer to the claim of illegally stealing my cats and then murdering them. Get me tied up in criminal charges against me, well there goes all my money for attorney fees to sue him. Do you get it yet?
BACK TO THE TRUTH BEHIND THE RAID 2011
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Depauw couple charged with child neglect, animal cruelty
by Alan Stewart
December 20, 2011
A Depauw couple was in Harrison Superior Court Monday after being charged with four counts of Class A misdemeanor cruelty to an animal and one count of Class D felony neglect of a dependent.
Randall T. and Samantha Sue Lee, both of the 5700 block of Milltown-Frenchtown Road, spent less than an hour in jail and were released after each posted a $200 surety bond.
The Lees were charged after 36 cats, three dogs and four chickens were removed from their home on Nov. 17, and the Department of Child Services told the couple that their two children had to stay elsewhere until the home's living conditions were deemed more suitable. The children returned home after a couple of days.
Four of the cats have since died.
"The scene inside the home shocks the consciousness of a seasoned public servant. It was something that had to be seen to be believed," Harrison County Animal Control Officer Bruce LaHue said last month. "The smell of feces, urine, molding clothing and rotting food caused your nostrils to swell shut and made it difficult to breathe. There was feline diarrhea on the floor, and ... there was two inches of water in the basement and a mattress where it appeared one of the children slept. The entire scene was absolutely unbelievable."
Samantha Lee runs an in-home, no-kill cat rescue shelter under the name Frisky Felines Foundation. One of the mission statements of the organization, which doesn't appear to have any type of nonprofit status, says, "We believe every cat has the right to live and has the right to live free of hunger, cold, abuse and loneliness."
On her Facebook page, Samantha Lee says she has worked for Barbour Lane Animal Hospital in Louisville. Barbour Lane would only say that she had worked there but it was several years ago; they declined further comment.
"This case has put a tremendous strain on Harrison County's Animal Control. We have had to ask the public to wait a little longer for many of the routine services we normally provide," LaHue said Monday. "The influx of sick animals has also forced the temporarily shutdown of our adoption operation, which usually picks up this time of year.
"It has been extremely hard on the staff and volunteers," he said. "The positive side of this case is, thanks to the cooperative efforts of the Harrison County Sheriff's Department, the Harrison County Prosecutor's Office, Milltown Marshal Ray Saylor, the State Board of Animal Health, Smith Animal Clinic and countless donors, we have removed animals from harm's way and provided them with the care necessary to live a normal life. We did our job with the laws we have to work with. The animals in this case are now receiving humane care and can be considered safe.
"As for Randall and Samantha Lee, they are innocent until proven guilty," he said. "Their fate is in the hands of our justice system and God. I'm OK with that because in God I have faith."
The case has generated a veterinary bill of $7,400, most of which will be absorbed by donations, LaHue said.
A report was filed last week by District 8 Field Technician Dr. Jodi Lovejoy of the Indiana State Board of Animal Health who evaluated the animals and rated them using the Purina Body Condition Scoring System. The animals were rated on a 1.0 to 9.0 scale where 1.0 is emaciated, 9.0 is extremely obese and normal body condition is 5.0. The presence or absence of periodontal disease was also noted in the report.
She said that of the 36 cats, 21 scored in the 1.0 to 2.0 range, and nine others were in the 2.5 to 3.5 range. Six of the cats scored in the 4.0 to 4.5 range.
Of the dogs, one was scored 7.0 (heavy) while the other two were in the normal range of 4.5 to 5.0. One of the dogs also tested positive for heartworms.
Two of the four chickens were in thin body condition, while the other two were in good condition.
Lovejoy noted that half of the cats had an active upper respiratory infection at the time she evaluated them, and some of the cats were infected with feline infectious peritonitis, Bordetella bronchiseptica, Chlamydophila felis and Mycoplasma felis. Both C. felis and M. felis may cause disease or may be present in healthy cats. Death rate in cats showing clinical signs of FIP is approximately 95 percent.
Twenty-two of the cats had eye problems such as redness and discharge.
Lovejoy said the only two cats known to be vaccinated for rabies were two feral cats. The Lees did not provide rabies vaccination information for the majority of the cats and none of the dogs. (Rabies vaccination of all dogs, cats and ferrets over three months of age is required in Indiana.)
Lovejoy said several photos of living conditions of the animals as provided by LaHue showed multiple litter boxes, most of which contained substantial amounts of cat feces, and the presence of cat feces outside of the litter boxes. Some of the feces noted were not properly formed, indicating the cat(s) had diarrhea. Feces were documented around floor vents and a door, she said.
The three dogs were kept in kennels. A Dalmatian was kept on the Lees' porch in a cage that did not provide adequate room for movement of the animal, nor was it able to separate itself from its bodily waste.
A black Lab-type dog was housed next to the house in a kennel that had no flooring. The kennel was muddy and wet, and the dog had no dry area to sit or lay down, the report said.
A chocolate Lab had a doghouse in its kennel. The ground surface of the kennel area appeared to be extremely muddy and wet, and there appeared to be little to no bedding present.
Lovejoy expressed concern about the cats' living conditions in the Lees' home, as well.
The photos "show large volumes of assorted material inside the home and sharp objects being present. These two situations can lead to possible entrapment and/or physical trauma to animals (or people) living within the residence," the report reads. "Additional photos showed the presence of an excessive amount of fecal material."
In Lovejoy's conclusion about the animals, she said, "Mrs. Lee states (on her website) that she worked as a veterinary technician for six years and has an educational background in animal care. With this in mind, it is difficult to understand how she allows mingling of clinically ill cats with other cats, how she does not practice any type of biosecurity to prevent or decrease the likelihood of disease transmission from animal to animal, such as quarantining of new or ill cats, and practice good hygiene such as removing fecal material on a daily basis. ... Additionally, with her self-reported medical background, she should be keenly aware of the health implications for people being around ill animals and living in a feces contaminated environment.
"The health and well-being of the cats are in immediate jeopardy and require immediate intervention, veterinary examination and treatment. The health and well-being of the dogs are not in immediate jeopardy but are lacking required care."
"There appears to be an overall disregard for the health and well-being of the animals owned and cared for by Randall and Samantha Lee. Their lack of adequate care for the animals, the cats in particular, indicates that they are either unable or unwilling to provide normal, common care for the animals they own."
On Jan. 14 of last year, 21 animals were seized from the same house and some had to be euthanized. Her children were required to leave the home then, too, but criminal charges were not filed by then-prosecutor Dennis Byrd.
THE LEE'S REBUTTAL TO THIS NEWS REPORT.............
"The scene inside the home shocks the consciousness of a seasoned public servant. It was something that had to be seen to be believed," Harrison County Animal Control Officer Bruce LaHue said last month. "The smell of feces, urine, molding clothing and rotting food caused your nostrils to swell shut and made it difficult to breathe. There was feline diarrhea on the floor, and ... there was two inches of water in the basement and a mattress where it appeared one of the children slept. The entire scene was absolutely unbelievable."
This is stated by someone that Samantha Lee had filed a complaint about. Each person, LaHue, Saylor and Gilley were all named in the tort claim filed by Samantha Lee. They claim smelling feces, urine, molding clothes and rotted food. However, there was no air quality test done until 6 days after the raid that came back to a level of 3. During the trial the health department testified to the fact that it was done 6 days later and when the prosecutor asked him to explain what a level of 3 would be the health department said it is the same as the air breathing in the court room that day. So they want to believe the air quality went from "caused your notrils to swell shut and made it difficult to breathe" to the air quality of the Harrison County Superior Court room.
LaHue Claims there was feline diarrhea on the floor, yes, there was, because there were many cats in the house, the home was staked out from noon to 5:30, the litter boxes were not overflowing but did need to be scooped by that point and the cats used the area by the back door which is where the litter box is located. Common sense tells you when you have a lot of cats you have to monitor the litter boxes, this doesn't mean that the litter boxes were not maintained everyday, because if they weren't then you would not of been able to see the fresh litter in the boxes.
LaHue claims there was 2 inches of water in the basement, yet their own photos show a basement with a partially dried floor. He also claims to see a mattress in the basement where one of the children slept. Yes, my 19 year old son slept there the first week of October when we, his parents, forced him to move out of the basement to the living room, which caused the house to be in complete disarray between trying to bring his items upstairs, and our personal items, of which had to be washed and find a new place for. Emptying out a full size basement that had been flooded is not an overnight project.
Samantha Lee runs an in-home, no-kill cat rescue shelter under the name Frisky Felines Foundation. One of the mission statements of the organization, which doesn't appear to have any type of nonprofit status, says, "We believe every cat has the right to live and has the right to live free of hunger, cold, abuse and loneliness."
Allen Stewart, the newspaper writer claims I had no nonprofit status. First of all, I do not have to have a nonprofit status to run a rescue in Indiana. Second, I was in the process of it being done and has since been approved and now Frisky Felines Foundation is a 501c(3) nonprofit rescue.
"This case has put a tremendous strain on Harrison County's Animal Control. We have had to ask the public to wait a little longer for many of the routine services we normally provide," LaHue said Monday. "The influx of sick animals has also forced the temporarily shutdown of our adoption operation, which usually picks up this time of year.
LaHue says "the influx of sick animals". My "animals" were not sick. I had a handful of cats with an upper respiratory infection in which I gave LaHue nearly $100 worth of medication for them, in which he testified he refused to give. The animal controls veterinarian, Dr. Smith testified that he ordered medication to replace my medication and LaHue failed to pick it up for days. The documentation shows the first dose of medication ANY of these cats received was on November 22, 2011, this is 5 days after the raid, but yet the "influx of sick animals" came from my house? NO, the influx of sick cats came from LaHue abusing my cats by withholding much needing medication.
She said that of the 36 cats, 21 scored in the 1.0 to 2.0 range, and nine others were in the 2.5 to 3.5 range. Six of the cats scored in the 4.0 to 4.5 range.
So Dr. Lovejoy claims that these cats were in these body conditions. There are only 2 weights on 43 animals. Why? You can look at the photos and tell these cats are not in this condition. I have proof that some of these cats scoring 1's were at optimum weight, because Gizmo had surgery on 11/8/11, Speck weighed almost 9 pounds when he was seen on 11/7/11 and he scored a 3, Kenya was seen by her vet for a URI on 11/14/11 and the vet said she was underweight, which is a 4, however on 11/21/11 Lovejoy said that she scored a BCS of 1. October 13, 2011 5 cats were spayed and neutered, the majority of these cats scored a 1. Cappi was one of these cats that scored a 1, however she was a kitten, she weighed 6 pounds on 10/13/11 when she was spayed and she is one of the cats weighed on 11/17/11 with a weight of 6 pounds. So if she weighed 6 pounds at the time of the spay and she exhibited a BCS of 1 why did the vet spay such an emaciated cat, furthermore, why did she not say anything to me about he being so grossly underweight?
Lovejoy noted that half of the cats had an active upper respiratory infection at the time she evaluated them, and some of the cats were infected with feline infectious peritonitis, Bordetella bronchiseptica, Chlamydophila felis and Mycoplasma felis. Both C. felis and M. felis may cause disease or may be present in healthy cats. Death rate in cats showing clinical signs of FIP is approximately 95 percent.
Twenty-two of the cats had eye problems such as redness and discharge.
Lovejoy says half of the cats had an active upper respiratory infection at the time she evaluated them, which was November 21, 2011, 4 days after the raid. So we went from a handful of cats to 1/2, that would be 18 cats. First of all, there are 2 things here. Look at the intake photos, well the ones I was given. Supposibly these were taken on 11/18/11, look at their eyes, how many do you see that have any visible signs of a uri? An active URI is one that has goopy or runny eyes, sometimes redness and a snotty nose. But when you look at these photos, keep in mind, I did have a handful of cats with a URI that did not receive ANY medication until AFTER Lovejoy saw them. Also, there is no indication any cat had FIP, as a matter of fact when Dr. Smith was deposed he had trouble talking about which cat had FIP, he talked about Garfield having it but ended up claiming Abbigayle was the one that had it. During his deposition he claims no necropsy was done, then during the trial claims the paperwork was lost.
Lovejoy then claims 22 of the cats had eye problems such as redness and discharge
To see the intake photos click here which shows it is impossible that 22 of the cats had eye problems such as redness and discharge
Lovejoy said several photos of living conditions of the animals as provided by LaHue showed multiple litter boxes, most of which contained substantial amounts of cat feces, and the presence of cat feces outside of the litter boxes. Some of the feces noted were not properly formed, indicating the cat(s) had diarrhea. Feces were documented around floor vents and a door, she said.
As I already explained, we were staked out for 5 1/2 hours. 2 of the cats were being treated for Coccidia. No cat had actual diarrhea but these 2 got loose stools from being on the medication. As you see Dr. Lovejoy said feces was found around floor vents, well that would be 1 floor vent, which is next to the backdoor, which is where the litter box was and still is.
The three dogs were kept in kennels. A Dalmatian was kept on the Lees' porch in a cage that did not provide adequate room for movement of the animal, nor was it able to separate itself from its bodily waste.
This is not true. Brownie is an outside dog and was in a kennel, Coal was in a kennel because I was cleaning house and did not want to tether him outside and did not want him with Brownie as he was not our dog and I did not have time to supervise them. The third one was our puppy Bindie who was in her training crate on the front porch. She had plenty of room for her to move, she didn't not need enough space to separate her from her bodily waste because the sole purpose of a training crate is to housebreak her and train her that she can be alone in a crate. As a matter of fact I had put a pillow in the crate with her and she tore it up.
A black Lab-type dog was housed next to the house in a kennel that had no flooring. The kennel was muddy and wet, and the dog had no dry area to sit or lay down, the report said.
A chocolate Lab had a doghouse in its kennel. The ground surface of the kennel area appeared to be extremely muddy and wet, and there appeared to be little to no bedding present.
So here it is claimed that Coal the black lab was housed next to the house in a kennel that had no flooring. Well Coal was in the backyard in a kennel behind Brownie, Coal had not been in a kennel by the house since we got him as we moved him inside. He preferred to be with other dogs though. No there was no flooring other than the earth. The kennel was muddy and wet, but had started drying out, so not all of the kennel was muddy.
The chocolate Lab was Brownie, who was an outside dog, she did have a dog house and she had no bedding because as much bedding that I have bought for her she would NEVER get in her dog house. So I figured it was better she had none and take shelter in her house than to have a nice bedding and her stand/sleep outside the dog house.
The photos "show large volumes of assorted material inside the home and sharp objects being present. These two situations can lead to possible entrapment and/or physical trauma to animals (or people) living within the residence," the report reads. "Additional photos showed the presence of an excessive amount of fecal material."
Yes the photos do show large volumes of assorted material inside the home because as I have said before, our basement flooded and we were cleaning it. LaHue, Saylor, Gilley as well as CPS was told by me the minute they walked in my house "excuse the mess we have been cleaning our basement after a flood".
Sharp objects? There were no sharp objects in the house in the manner in which she is talking. Possible entrapment or physical trauma? Really? I'm disabled. I have to have clear walk ways and I cannot stand when my house is a mess because I fear if I should ever need an ambulance, that is way the basement cleaning was done in stages so the house would not get ran over with clutter. Yes the house was a mess on this day, but it was because I put a cat and my son, as well as a home that told me she was getting evicted if I didn't help her over my housework. I would do it again if I had to, well except helping another person in need.
In Lovejoy's conclusion about the animals, she said, "Mrs. Lee states (on her website) that she worked as a veterinary technician for six years and has an educational background in animal care. With this in mind, it is difficult to understand how she allows mingling of clinically ill cats with other cats, how she does not practice any type of biosecurity to prevent or decrease the likelihood of disease transmission from animal to animal, such as quarantining of new or ill cats, and practice good hygiene such as removing fecal material on a daily basis. ... Additionally, with her self-reported medical background, she should be keenly aware of the health implications for people being around ill animals and living in a feces contaminated environment.
In reply to Lovejoys comment about me, no one at any time before the trial asked me if any cats were quarantined, however, they removed Kenya from a cage and 4 kittens with a uri from a cage because they were being kept away from the other cats. And yes, with my "self-reported" medical background I am keenly aware of the health implication for people being around ill animals and living in a feces contaminated environment. My animals were not "sick" in a manner to infect humans, nor was my family and our animals living in a feces contaminated environment, what happens in a matter of hours because people are lurking illegally around your house and your animals deficate in places they normally don't isn't "living in a contaminated environment".
"The health and well-being of the cats are in immediate jeopardy and require immediate intervention, veterinary examination and treatment. The health and well-being of the dogs are not in immediate jeopardy but are lacking required care."
The cats were not in immediate jeopardy until LaHue got his hands on them. LaHue is the one that caused them to die. The dogs were not lacking required care. Coal supposedly had heartworms, but yet animal control left him untreated. He was not our dog. No one has ever mentioned any "required care" the dogs needed except Coal having heartworms, but yet was left untreated by them once they discovered it.
"There appears to be an overall disregard for the health and well-being of the animals owned and cared for by Randall and Samantha Lee. Their lack of adequate care for the animals, the cats in particular, indicates that they are either unable or unwilling to provide normal, common care for the animals they own."
On Jan. 14 of last year, 21 animals were seized from the same house and some had to be euthanized. Her children were required to leave the home then, too, but criminal charges were not filed by then-prosecutor Dennis Byrd.
Lovejoy feels there to be an overall disregard for the health and well-being of the animals owned and cared for by us. That the lack of adequate care for the animals, cats in particular indicates that we are either unable or unwilling to provide normal, common care for the animals we own, however, my vets bills I think speak differently. You must look at the big picture here, a flooded basement, a sick cat, a sick child, and I was trying to help prevent someone from losing her home. At no point did LaHue ever say to clean up, vet animals and he will monitor me, because he knows I'm innocent. It was all a ploy to get back at me for filing an intent to sue him and the county.
January 14, 2010, LaHue to help Shannon Ambrose a CPS caseworker that asked us on 5 different days to agree to her opening a case on us removed all the cats, left the dog, chickens and fish. Only to kill those cats 18 days later, the tort claim I filed was to get those cats back, I had no idea when I filed it that they were dead. So you see, he agenda was to damage my credibility when he would of had to answer to the claim of illegally stealing my cats and then murdering them. Get me tied up in criminal charges against me, well there goes all my money for attorney fees to sue him. Do you get it yet?
BACK TO THE TRUTH BEHIND THE RAID 2011