Abandoned Cats
 

A disturbing situation involving a number of abandoned cats in the New Hampton area has come to my attention within the past few days. This information was relayed to me by a resident who lives in the area and are the facts as she knows them. It seems a home owner recently passed away and authorities discovered upwards of 15 - 25 cats in the home. They were let out of the house and are presently roaming free in the woods along the roadside to fend for themselves. The Humane Society was purportedly contacted, but they have done nothing to rescue them (perhaps due to overcrowding at the shelter, I don't know). They are not wild, ferrel cats, as they have had human contact and most are very friendly and social. If the local shelter is full, perhaps other shelters in the area might be willing to accept a few each to give them a warm place to stay and proper nutrition. Concerned people in the area have brought food out to them to ward off starvation, but it is probably not adequate for that many cats.

Does anyone on the Forum know more about this situation and whether there are any plans in the works to rescue these poor animal? It is very sad and distressing.

Horrible! Who are the "Authorities" ? Are they the ones that let them out of the house?

Sounds like a good story, if the details can be verified, for local media like WMUR to get enough publicity to get either "the authorities" or the humane society to take some action to find and rescue these cats. They don't stand much of a chance in this weather.

Authorities
 

Don't quote me on this, but I believe the proper way local authorities are to handle pets are to call local animal control. I've seen this many times.

Maybe Skip can correct me here.

Abandoned Cats
 

What we have learned from a neighbor who lives next-door, the home owners died within a few weeks of each other. The police were called in and they in turn called the Humane Society to rescue the cats. They were reluctant to get involved, so the police let the cats out of the house.

I thought perhaps there was a missing link to the story, but it appears it is factual and the cats have been left on their own. Were it not for kindly neighbors and concerned residents, they would be entirely without food, but people who love animals have stepped up to the plate to do what they can for them. Some seem to be in need of veterinary care and are a bit timid, but most are very friendly and craving attention. The friend who told me about it has brought food over and taken photos - I counted 14 in the group she captured in one of her shots. She understands there were originally about 25 but some may have died or fallen prey to wild animals by now. Unbelievably distressing.

Outrageous behavior by municipal employees, if true! :(

NH Humane Society
 

I agree the town officials seem to have handled this very poorly. I'm also disturbed that the NHHS does not look very good in this post. But, as always there are usually more than one side to any story.

I have sent an e-mail to NHHS this AM, including a "link" to this post. The accusation of a lack of action on their part just doesn't ring true to me, and I've asked that they look into the situation.

Just as I suspected..
 

I've heard back from Marylee Gorman from NH Humane..
She was upset at some of the information in the post.

"I am upset because this post is completely UNTRUE. We are well aware of the house. We have taken cats, and continue to do so. We are working with the New Hampton PD.
Perhaps you can post a rebuttal from me please. Misinformation that hurts NHHS only hurt the animals, and often, they don't have all of the facts straight.
I am out of the office until about 11a.m but I will contact you when I get into the office."

Marylee

Thank You NHHS for Your Response
 

When initially told of this situation, my first response was to think that there must be more to the story than what I was hearing. Often facts are distorted or added to in the telling and I could not believe this was true. I have always been a contributor to the NHHS and felt they serve the community well.

Thank you NHHS for weighing in. I am so relieved to hear that the story is not as it seems to be. So sorry for the alarm but people living in the area have been most concerned and seemed to be corroborating the story. As I am a cat lover myself, it certainly raised my concerns, as well.

May they all find proper care and lodging before winter sets in.

New Hampshire Humane Society is Helping the animals in New Hampton
 

All of the comments in this thread are completely wrong and inaccurate. The New Hampshire Humane Society has been working directly with the Chief of Police, Merritt Salmon and Officer Monica Cunningham as well as a group of neighbors in regard to this house for months. As the owner of the cats did not want to surrender them we offered to spay and neuter each cat and return them to him all at our cost. This plan stopped as soon as the owner passed away. NHHS has taken ownership of the dog which has received all medical treatment and is currently up for adoption. With the help of Officer Cunningham and the neighbors we have already trapped 10 cats which will receive full medical treatment and then be placed up for adoption. We have pledged to collect the entire population and get them placed up for adoption as soon as possible. In the interim, all are being fed so they are not fending for themselves and if the numbers are diminishing, it is not due to “prey” but rather they are already safe, warm, and loved here at NHHS.

This type of work goes on all the time here at NHHS and for misinformation to be written without asking us directly is hurtful to this organization that cares for over 1,300 abandoned, abused, and just simply unwanted creatures. No animal is ever euthanized for time, space, or money constraints, rather all who arrive here are assured care and comfort until placement in a loving forever home, no matter how long the wait might be for them. NHHS is your local animal welfare agency which is always speaking for those that cannot speak for themselves.

Over the years, I have found that the majority of posters here are very well intended folks. The information may not have been spot-on, but the intent here was to help.

I also believe the posters here are willing to support agencies that are doing things that help the area. To that point, is there a web site or an address that can be posted here where concerned folks that are able to contribute can send a donation?

I am very happy to hear the NHHS is actively engaged in this rescue, so thank you for posting this information. I am also sure this effort is costing money and we all know how tight things are these days.

R2B

Sorry for answering my own question, but here is the NHHS web site and they have a secure on-line donation page. The donation took less than 2 minutes.

http://www.nhhumane.org/

R2B

Please Accept My Apology
 

I certainly owe NHHS an apology for not verifying the facts of the case before posting. Obviously the story continued to build as it went from one person to the next in the community. Moral of the story is never believe anything you hear even when it seems to come from reliable sources.

Please accept my regrets and I will be forwarding an additional donation to help with the cost of their care as they arrive at the shelter.

Chickie, Don't beat yourself up about this. It's easy to caught up in a "story", I've done it, and I bet just about everyone has a some point. Look at my first post... I was all set to jump on the town officials.

Sadly, there are so many widely reported examples of animal abuse, that it's easy to believe just about any story you hear is true.

Look at the good side. I'll bet this post will educate and remind lot's of folks to great work of NHHS and the other Lakes Region animal shelters.

Odd Man Out
 

I see NO reason why Chickie should apologize for anything....or anyone else in this thread. Chickie brought up a concern (in good faith) which was shared with other posters. The tone was sincere. And now Chickie has been Bullied into apologizing. :look:

I think the Humane Society "Representative" needs to apologize to those posters who spoke their concerns. The TONE of her posts were over the top. :(

No One here denies the job done by the Humane Society. NB

Didn't we donate all the proceeds from the ForumFest Raffle to NHHS one year?

Yes, 2007 at Cate Park.

Follow Up on New Hampton cats
 

NHHS certainly was not asking for anyone's apology just a clarification of the facts. We are always quick to jump to conclusion and all we ask is to ask us directly if a concern comes up. Let us focus on the positive: the dog in this situation is up for adoption and 10 of the cats are already safe and warm at the shelter. We expect all of the cats to be here within the week which will be a happy ending to a sad situation!

Nhhs
 

OK. So the humane society is supposedly off the hook. But releasing the animals into the wild and then take corrective actions is what the problem is. Shall the municipal employees be held responsible for releasing the animals or shall NHHS be responsible for not responding quickly?

Another problem with NHHS is that they will not take animals from private individuals unless the pay a fee. Since this has happened, I find a lot of folks releasing their animals in another neighborhood or abandoning animals near the shelter so they don't have to pay. This payment should be voluntary. That way most pets will end up where they should be, not outdoors in the cold.

I realize NHHS needs money and I do donate supplies and money to NHHS, but they need to be humane. :cool:

Follow Up on New Hampton
 

The cats in New Hampton were always outside and were not released by any municipal employees. NHHS had been working with the owner to spay, neuter and return the cats for many weeks before he passed away - all at our cost. Once this occured we immediately took action to bring the cats to us. Additionally there is no fee to surrernder a dog or cat to NHHS - all we ask is that you make an appointment so that we can be ready to accept the animal and have a cage or kennel all ready for them. Another positive note: the dog, Bootsie, has someone interested in her so hopefully she will have a new home soon!

Humane Society does an incredible job....I defy any animal lover to try and fill their shoes for a day.They deserve our praise and support....not our criticism.
Mary Di Maria was smart to address this inaccurate story and I hope it results in some new donations.
Chickie did the right thing and apologized and should get credit for standing up....certainly not being bullied.

Not a very nice reference to our forum:( Chickie apologized to the NHHS but I guess they had to take it one step further to clarify the story.

NHHS either did not mention the contributions made over the years by forum members including recent contributions made as a result of the story or the LaDaSun made a decision not to include any mention of contributions in their story.

We cannot jump to conclusions here either. It would be nice to hear from NHHS on this.

R2B

Sorry, NoBozo, but I disagree. Chickie posted the information she was given in good faith and stated upfront that it was second-hand information. However, what was posted turned out not to be accurate and it was potentially very damaging to NHHS's reputation. The NHHS representative was understandably concerned about the misinformation and felt that it needed to be corrected. She then posted a detailed explanation of the actual facts of the situation. I think the "tone" of her comments was completely reasonable, and I don't see why she needs to apologize for anything.

P.S. I also think Chickie showed some true "class" in posting her apology.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

I thought the original posting was done quite tastefully considering that Chickie made it clear that the information came from someone else and the posting ended with a request for more information. I frequently see people post opinions as fact and that is why I don't believe everything I see on the internet!!!

ONLY Republicans... are Required to Apologize. The way it should be. :D :D NB

I'm glad you have a good sense of humor, NoBozo! :D :D Hope you have a Happy New Year.

Nobozo:

I agree with you that the NH Humane Society folks, while well intentioned, had an edge in their response to this situation, especially considering the fact that the Winnipesaukee.com web site has contributed money to their organization in the past and Chickie's comment was not mean spirited. Nothing egregious, just an edge. The irony is that the old couple who owned 25+ cats should have never been able to horde animals but doing something about the situation while they were still alive would have been viewed as politically incorrect.

Ha, ha, ha, yep, if democrats were required to apologize they would be unable to talk about anything else!!! ;)

You would have an edge also if the quote below had secondcurve inserted for The Humane Society.
"The Humane Society was purportedly contacted, but they have done nothing to rescue them"..

Its appears that just the opposite occurred.

Chickie's intentions are undenialble but a lesson here should be learned to not throw stones around before seeing where they might land.

My point is that Di Maria, while setting the record straight in the newspaper article, could have taken a more positive approach and noted that well intended Winnipesaukee.com posters misinterpreted and then misreported the facts in their haste to ensure the cats in question were being well cared for. She could have also added that the Winnipesaukee.com site has generously contributed financially to her organization's efforts in the past, underscoring the validity of the Humane Society. It's just a question of approach. Had the comments been intentionally defaming the Humane Society's reputation a harsher tone might have been warranted but I don't think that was the case here.