Help Val Garcia! Legal Fees
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My name is Florence Homer and I am a personal friend of Val Garcia and a rescue colleague to her. I live in Northern VA, Reston to be specific. This fundraiser will be used towards the legal fees she incurred in the below described situation in which she had to defend herself in court when she came to the aid of a homeless cat. Any overage will be used to further fund medical care of homeless cats that her rescue group helps. I plan to sign over 100% of the money earned in this fundraiser over to Val Garcia of Helping Homeless Felines.
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REACHING OUT TO OTHER CAT RESCUERS AND FRIENDS TO HELP LONG ESTABLISHED RESCUER, VAL GARCIA WITH LEGAL FEES incurred in her efforts to save a friendly, highly adoptable cat from being left to a homeless life outdoors.
Val became the target of a lawsuit after rescuing the cat, and lost out to those who were focused on pursuing a "win" rather than allowing Val to find a loving adoptive home for the cat.
In the cold month of January, Val was contacted to help a local resident with a stray cat. Thethat had has been waiting every day, for months, under her deck for food. The resident was concerned and wanted to find him indoor home. Val responded promptly, scanning but finding no microchip, and then taking the cat into her rescue organization. She asked the finder to file a Found Cat report with the local shelter and to post found flyers.
A neighbor saw the fliers and said the cat was from a small colony that had initially been dumped outside by a local hoarder. The colony now had caretaker. The caretaker responded to the found flyers. As it turned out there were five cats she was caring for outside. The woman had taken them to the county-funded Trap / Neuter / Return clinic in 2yrs prior. Of the five, the cat found and given to Val was known for roaming widely in the neighborhood. While the other four were shy, this particular cat was the very definition of a friendly, highly adoptable, loving animal. Val and the caretaker came to an agreement that Val & her rescue organization would retain the first cat, returning within days for a second cat; and over a staggered timeframe in upcoming weeks would also accept the others into the adoption program. The caretaker was relieved at this offer of adoption assistance because her husband is military, and when they receive orders to move within 2 years, they could not take the cats and would have to leave them behind.
Shortly after this agreement was made, and with the first cat still in Val's care, the blizzard arrived. This postponed the timeline to take the second cat. During this break, an outside party involved herself into the situation. That person, being a former friend to Val but not having met the caretaker before, advised the woman that the cat did not need an indoor home. She actively discredited Val not only to that woman but many others, and said the cat was personal property (though no legal ownership documents existed) and was therefore stolen property. Equally sad and shameful, that party claimed to be associated with a rescue group herself, yet she convinced the caretaker that the cats were better off with an outdoor life - dismissing inherent dangers such as foxes, traffic, or harsh weather, with no safe indoor haven to escape. This was not an indoor/outdoor cat situation - it was outdoors only with the cats roaming to different houses to get fed, and afforded no vet care.
Once the outside party influenced the woman into believing that no cats should be entrusted to Val's rescue program, Val contested returning the first cat that was still in her care. The woman then filed a lawsuit, aided by outside party.
In April, Val reported to the court with all intentions of preventing this unbelievably sweet cat from being returned to a lifeoutdoors. Since coming into Val's care, the cat had experienced a blissful foster home with a warm bed, constant affection, toys, and veterinary care and he never once showed any desire to go back outside. But that safe haven ended after 3-1/2 months.
In spite of representation by an excellent animal rights attorney, Val's day in court did not go well. The judge stated at the start that he was "not a cat guy". Subsequently Val's case was not fairly heard. Her witnesses included a shelter representative who testified that the cat was neutered, vaccinated and paid for through the county's community cat program, making him 'not owned' by anyone. A witness who was a participant in Val's adoption agreement conversation with the caretaker also testified. Both witnesses were denied adequate opportunity to speak. The judge was in a hurry to end the case; he even referred to the case as "frivolous".
Thejudge deemed that the caretaker had a "greater right" to the cat than Val - though he did not deem the woman to be the legal owner - and he ordered the cat returned. Ironically, when he relayed his decision he also acknowledged that the caretaker herself wasn't giving the cat the best care - but he nonetheless sided with her claims that Val had stolen her cat, and he listened to the adversarial outside party who testified Val did not have credibility as a rescue organization. The judge said Val would be held in contempt of court if she failed to return the cat. She was left with no legal option but to return the wonderful cat to an outdoor life, which by extension included the other four cats that she had promised the caretaker she would take into rescue and find adoptive homes.
Val is now left with vet bills for the cat (combo testing, vaccinations, flea and deworming treatment, and micro chipping) as well as her legal bill for fighting on behalf of the cat's life.
For those of you that know Val, she has done so much for the welfare of cats and has volunteered for the toughest cases of blind, limbless, and other "damaged" cats that no one else would take. She has spent countless hours trapping stray unaltered and pregnant cats, fostering sick cats no one else will take, and sponsoring special needs surgeries.
For those of you that don't know Val, but love cats and care as deeply about the welfare of animals as she does, please consider making a contribution. No amount is too small and all contributions are fully tax-deductible as a charity donation to her registered 501(c)(3).
Any amount received above the vet and legal bills will be applied to the rescue fund of Val's group Helping Homeless Felines to continue her good work with cats in dire need of help.
My name is Florence Homer and I am a personal friend of Val Garcia and a rescue colleague to her. I live in Northern VA, Reston to be specific. This fundraiser will be used towards the legal fees she incurred in the below described situation in which she had to defend herself in court when she came to the aid of a homeless cat. Any overage will be used to further fund medical care of homeless cats that her rescue group helps. I plan to sign over 100% of the money earned in this fundraiser over to Val Garcia of Helping Homeless Felines.
-----------------------------------------------
REACHING OUT TO OTHER CAT RESCUERS AND FRIENDS TO HELP LONG ESTABLISHED RESCUER, VAL GARCIA WITH LEGAL FEES incurred in her efforts to save a friendly, highly adoptable cat from being left to a homeless life outdoors.
Val became the target of a lawsuit after rescuing the cat, and lost out to those who were focused on pursuing a "win" rather than allowing Val to find a loving adoptive home for the cat.
In the cold month of January, Val was contacted to help a local resident with a stray cat. Thethat had has been waiting every day, for months, under her deck for food. The resident was concerned and wanted to find him indoor home. Val responded promptly, scanning but finding no microchip, and then taking the cat into her rescue organization. She asked the finder to file a Found Cat report with the local shelter and to post found flyers.
A neighbor saw the fliers and said the cat was from a small colony that had initially been dumped outside by a local hoarder. The colony now had caretaker. The caretaker responded to the found flyers. As it turned out there were five cats she was caring for outside. The woman had taken them to the county-funded Trap / Neuter / Return clinic in 2yrs prior. Of the five, the cat found and given to Val was known for roaming widely in the neighborhood. While the other four were shy, this particular cat was the very definition of a friendly, highly adoptable, loving animal. Val and the caretaker came to an agreement that Val & her rescue organization would retain the first cat, returning within days for a second cat; and over a staggered timeframe in upcoming weeks would also accept the others into the adoption program. The caretaker was relieved at this offer of adoption assistance because her husband is military, and when they receive orders to move within 2 years, they could not take the cats and would have to leave them behind.
Shortly after this agreement was made, and with the first cat still in Val's care, the blizzard arrived. This postponed the timeline to take the second cat. During this break, an outside party involved herself into the situation. That person, being a former friend to Val but not having met the caretaker before, advised the woman that the cat did not need an indoor home. She actively discredited Val not only to that woman but many others, and said the cat was personal property (though no legal ownership documents existed) and was therefore stolen property. Equally sad and shameful, that party claimed to be associated with a rescue group herself, yet she convinced the caretaker that the cats were better off with an outdoor life - dismissing inherent dangers such as foxes, traffic, or harsh weather, with no safe indoor haven to escape. This was not an indoor/outdoor cat situation - it was outdoors only with the cats roaming to different houses to get fed, and afforded no vet care.
Once the outside party influenced the woman into believing that no cats should be entrusted to Val's rescue program, Val contested returning the first cat that was still in her care. The woman then filed a lawsuit, aided by outside party.
In April, Val reported to the court with all intentions of preventing this unbelievably sweet cat from being returned to a lifeoutdoors. Since coming into Val's care, the cat had experienced a blissful foster home with a warm bed, constant affection, toys, and veterinary care and he never once showed any desire to go back outside. But that safe haven ended after 3-1/2 months.
In spite of representation by an excellent animal rights attorney, Val's day in court did not go well. The judge stated at the start that he was "not a cat guy". Subsequently Val's case was not fairly heard. Her witnesses included a shelter representative who testified that the cat was neutered, vaccinated and paid for through the county's community cat program, making him 'not owned' by anyone. A witness who was a participant in Val's adoption agreement conversation with the caretaker also testified. Both witnesses were denied adequate opportunity to speak. The judge was in a hurry to end the case; he even referred to the case as "frivolous".
Thejudge deemed that the caretaker had a "greater right" to the cat than Val - though he did not deem the woman to be the legal owner - and he ordered the cat returned. Ironically, when he relayed his decision he also acknowledged that the caretaker herself wasn't giving the cat the best care - but he nonetheless sided with her claims that Val had stolen her cat, and he listened to the adversarial outside party who testified Val did not have credibility as a rescue organization. The judge said Val would be held in contempt of court if she failed to return the cat. She was left with no legal option but to return the wonderful cat to an outdoor life, which by extension included the other four cats that she had promised the caretaker she would take into rescue and find adoptive homes.
Val is now left with vet bills for the cat (combo testing, vaccinations, flea and deworming treatment, and micro chipping) as well as her legal bill for fighting on behalf of the cat's life.
For those of you that know Val, she has done so much for the welfare of cats and has volunteered for the toughest cases of blind, limbless, and other "damaged" cats that no one else would take. She has spent countless hours trapping stray unaltered and pregnant cats, fostering sick cats no one else will take, and sponsoring special needs surgeries.
For those of you that don't know Val, but love cats and care as deeply about the welfare of animals as she does, please consider making a contribution. No amount is too small and all contributions are fully tax-deductible as a charity donation to her registered 501(c)(3).
Any amount received above the vet and legal bills will be applied to the rescue fund of Val's group Helping Homeless Felines to continue her good work with cats in dire need of help.
Organizer
Florence Homer
Organizer
Reston, VA
