Cruelty probe at Chester animal shelter

Chester Police Chief Rick Cloud said Friday his department is investigating allegations of animal cruelty at Webster's House, a no-kill animal shelter in Chester.

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Print Email Photos by Len Emery With an assist from Betsy Perry, president of The Animal Rescue and Protection Society, veterinarian Dr. Tom Olney examines Jasper, one of the cats removed Friday from Webster House in Chester. Published April 2, 2016 in the Rutland Herald Cruelty probe at Chester animal shelter By Susan Smallheer CHESTER — Police Chief Rick Cloud said Friday his department is investigating allegations of animal cruelty at Webster’s House, a no-kill animal shelter in Chester. Cloud said Friday the investigation has uncovered at least one instance of a cat being euthanized by drowning. “There was one cat that was drowned,” he said. He said many people drop off their sick cats, treatment for which they can’t pay for, at Webster’s House. The chief said the case was still under investigation by Detective Matthew Wilson, who was off Friday and couldn’t be reached. He said the case would be referred to the Windsor County state’s attorney’s office for possible prosecution. The shelter was previously known as TARPS, or The Animal Rescue and Protection Society. It was founded in 2000 as a network of animal foster homes and eventually was established in a converted trailer and series of outbuildings on Route 103, south of Chester. It is run by volunteers. Meanwhile, the owner of the buildings, Bill Allen, served the shelter with an eviction notice last Saturday, prompting area humane societies to come Friday afternoon to take some of the cats for adoption to their shelters. But the afternoon’s events took a turn for the worse when humane society volunteers found a dead cat, wrapped in a plastic bag, floating in a bucket of water in back of the building. The bucket was covered by a litter box, weighed down by a large rock. When volunteers confronted Mary Donaldson, the Webster’s House manager about the dead cat, she started yelling that it was a “plant,” and that it wasn’t one of her cats. She refused to look at the cat. Donaldson said in an interview, before the dead cat was discovered, that she was aware of the drowning allegations against Webster’s House, but she said they weren’t true and that they were the result of a former friend trying to make trouble for her. “I told her not to drive her kids when she’d been drinking,” said Donaldson, who moved to the area from Connecticut about eight years ago. She lives at Webster’s House, which is named for one of her “special needs cats.” The shelter has been closed to the public since about Christmas, with the notice on the door saying it was due to a “contagious virus.” Dr. Tom Olney, a veterinarian from the Rockingham Veterinarian Clinic who was helping to evaluate all the cats, said the cat was dead and still had all its fur, an indication that it had died recently. Earlier, Olney and the other volunteers, including Betsey Perry, the chairwoman of the board of TARPS, which is the parent organization of Webster’s House, helped Olney examine each of the 39 cats still at the shelter, and document it and its condition with photographs. Also helping Olney were Sue Skaskiw of Vermont Volunteer Services for Animals of Bridgewater and Janet Klimenok of Highland Cat Rescue of Springfield. Many of the cats appeared sick to varying degrees, with eye or nose problems. Several of the cats were described as “feral” by Donaldson, and they had to be handled carefully. One half-grown cat named Jasper, about eight months old, was blind because it had to have both its eyes removed due to what Donaldson said was a herpes infection. She refused to let either humane society take the cat, saying it had already been spoken for. Of the 39 cats, Donaldson said at least six were hers. By the end of the afternoon, Springfield Humane Society had taken nine cats to its shelter, the Lucy Mackenzie Humane Society took four cats, and three sick cats went to the Rockingham Veterinarian Clinic, with one named Blueberry to be euthanized because it was so sick, according to Skaskiw. Two other cats had to be euthanized earlier this week at the Springfield Animal Hospital, Donaldson said. Webster’s House could remain open until July, said Skaskiw, noting it had received a 60-day notice to vacate. Skaskiw said she hoped other humane societies would also come and take some of the cats in. Skaskiw took one of the cats as well. Jackie Stanley, shelter manager at Lucy Mackenzie in West Windsor, said her shelter currently had 58 cats available for adoption. She said her cat population usually ranges between 50 and 75. June Horvath, the shelter manager at Springfield Humane Society, said the Webster’s House cats would be available later in the month, noting that all new cats are held and examined for two weeks. Perry said she had only recently returned to the TARPS board. She said she returned to the board after the woman who had replaced her resigned. Perry said the situation facing the shelter was “a mess,” but volunteers were trying to do the best thing for the cats. The shelter does not take dogs. “We have to close our doors,” said Perry. “We have nowhere to go.” http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20160402/NEWS02/160409912 2016-04-02 Animal shelter being evicted, under investigation By Nancy A. Cavanaugh ncavanaugh@eagletimes.com Betsy Perry, president of the Webster’s House Animal Shelter Board of Directors, holds one of the cats that needs to find a new home while Mary Donaldson, shelter manager, watches and Dr. Thomas Olney, Rockingham Veterinary Clinic, examines the cat while June Sumner, Shelter Manager for the Springfield Humane Society, looks on. — NANCY CAVANAUGH Betsy Perry, president of the Webster’s House Animal Shelter Board of Directors, holds one of the cats that needs to find a new home while Mary Donaldson, shelter manager, watches and Dr. Thomas Olney, Rockingham Veterinary Clinic, examines the cat while June Sumner, Shelter Manager for the Springfield Humane Society, looks on. — NANCY CAVANAUGH CHESTER — It has been a bad week for Webster’s House Animal Shelter, formerly The Animal Rescue and Protection Society, Inc. (TARPS). The shelter was handed an eviction notice and will have to close its doors by July 1. In addition, the shelter has to do a health check on all the cats in its care due to an investigation by the Chester Police Department. “In the middle of this investigation, we got a notice from our landlord that we are being evicted on July 1,” said Mary Donaldson, shelter manager. “We have no place to go so we have to shut down and we need to find homes for all these cats.” The board of directors have met once regarding the eviction and “will be meeting many more times,” said Donaldson. “It’s all happening at once,” she continued. “I think it’s the universe’s way of saying it is time to move on.” Webster’s House has been in existence since 2000, starting off as TARPS before transitioning to Webster’s House Animal Shelter in 2015. The organization is a not-for-profit volunteer shelter, and is registered with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, according to Shelley Mehlenbacher, assistant state veterinarian. The Vermont Volunteer Services for Animals Humane Society (VVSA) became involved two months ago after someone visiting the shelter witnessed something that happened that was “not in keeping with a humane shelter.” According to Detective Matthew Wilson, the Chester Police Department currently has an open investigation with the shelter. “I spoke to [Detective Wilson] two days ago,” said Mary Donaldson, shelter manager. “He said we have two options — have a vet check the health of all the cats or close down. We decided to go with the vet check.” VVSA was at the shelter on Friday with Dr. Thomas Olney from the Rockingham Veterinary Clinic to check on the health of the 39 cats living at the shelter, to be sure that they are healthy enough to be adopted, and cataloging each cat with a picture and information from the vet. Area humane societies, like the Springfield Humane Society and Lucy MacKenzie Humane Society, have stepped up to take some of the cats, but do not have room for all of them. “The VVSA’s goal is to place all the cats in permanent, responsible, loving homes as soon as possible,” said Sue Skaskiw, president of VVSA. “Some of the cats are scaredy cats who just need a little TLC (tender love and care).” The VVSA is a nonprofit humane society in Bridgewater that has been around since 1986. The organization provides animal advocacy and education, and runs the Vermont Spay Neuter Incentive Program (VSNIP), which provides assistance for those who cannot afford to spay or neuter their pets. Those interested in adopting a cat can call (802) 875-7777 or visit the shelter’s website at https://webstershouse.wordpress.com.