Help an Animal Rescue Overcome False Charges
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My name is Mike Stehley. You may have seen my best friend's name in the news lately and I want you to know the other side of the story. Chris Harr is the CEO of Animal Orphans Animal Rescue & Pet Sanctuary, Inc; a 100% No-Kill, 501c3 non-profit organization that specializes in pets with special needs and pets who are not adoptable. And I want you to know that she is not the monster they made her out to be.
If you knew her, you would know that she has devoted the last 19 years of her life to trying to help unwanted and abandoned pets. She has given homes and care to animals that no one else wanted and no other rescue would take. Animals that would have died in the streets or been immediately euthanized at other rescues.
This includes kittens who needed bottle feed, senior cats, cats with FeLuk and FIV, cats with feline herpes, cats with seizures, stroke survivors and a multitude of other health issues. She had also taken in pregnant cats, animals that are not house broken, feral and semi feral cats. These cats would be euthanized at most other no-kill rescues due to the cost of care, the time needed for their care and due to the fact that they are not adoptable.
The majority of the animals that are brought to her are from people who tried calling all the large rescues and we're repeatedly told "No", they would not take the animal; so they bring them to her. She takes them in because she knows what will happen to them if she didn't: They will be abandoned or killed.
A large portion of the funds needed to run the rescue come from her own pocket because donations are few and far between. In 2016, the rescue was hit by a tornado which did a substantial amount of damage to the roof and despite her repeated cries for help and donations; no one really seemed to care. The news would not cover it, she hardly got any shares on Facebook, few people showed up to their fundraisers and all the rescues she called for assistance did not want to help.
After years of trying to raise funds, she bought a new building with money that she received as a settlement from getting hurt at work, just so she could move the animals to safety. She also used a large chunk of her own money to fix the building up. She had over 75% of the animals moved to the new, safe location already. One more week and they would have all been moved.
Her house was falling apart because she had spent every waking moment of the last 8 months working on the new rescue, fundraising and caring for the animals that she had no time to deal with the mounting issues in her own home. (Her house was also damaged by the tornado.) And she was okay with this as long as the animals were going to be safe. She figured after they were moved to safety, she would start to address the problems in her own house and property.
But after all of that, she is now being wrongfully charged with animal torture for not seeking veterinary care for animals with untreatable terminal conditions who were in hospice care until it was their time. This just isn't right.
She was able to find excellent legal counsel but the fees to clear her name will be exorbitant. If you believe in her or believe in her cause, please donate to show your support. If you believe that the Humane Society of the United States is a fraudulent group that exaggerates situations to boost donations when, in fact, less than 1% of the money they raise actually helps animals and they do not, in fact, have any shelters: Not one of her animals are in their care and yet they are using pictures of her animals to raise money that will in no way benefit these animals. This is fraud. If you agree this is nothing more than a publicity stunt to raise money, please donate in order to help her overcome this travesty of Justice.
If you are on the fence about her guilt or innocence, contemplate this: one of the HSUS paid employees said it was the worst she'd ever seen. If this is as bad as she said It is, then why did they only show footage of a handful of animals? Why not show all 150 cats? Could it be because the others were perfectly healthy?
They also only showed the cats in cages. Why didn't they show the cats running loose in the rooms? They made a fuss about them being in cages. The average cage was 32 to 42 inches. Over 50 cats were running free because they were spayed, neutered or tested for FeLuk and FIV. Now they are all in cages that are much smaller than 32 inches. How is this an improvement?
The cat they show blowing bubbles out her nose is Laylar Bean. She has herpes, which in cats are lesions inside the sinus cavity. The stress from the move had made the symptoms worse. No amount of vet care in the world will cure this. Holistic home treatment does keep the condition stable.
The dirty black and white cat is Bamboo. Bamboo is semi feral and just a rather gross cat. He likes to move his water bowl over to his litter box and then shovel poop from his litter box into it. He also likes to pee in his water bowl. The continued movement of his water bowl spills water onto the tray and then he rolls in it.
He is also in a cage with Kaleehsie. She likes to poop next to her food bowl and then cover it with their grain free food. Their cage had just been completely scrubbed the day before last and she had just given Bamboo a bath last week. Some animals just don't have good hygiene skills which is why she has them.
She begged for donations for 3 years after being hit by the tornado and no one wanted to donate to repair the building. Now everyone is donating money to 3 different organizations that don't even have the cats because some we're found in the dilapidated remains of the building no one was willing to help fix before she was able to move them all out. She did not fail these animals, the community failed this rescue. She was one person holding back a mountain with her bare hands asking for help that never came.
Just a few things to think about.
https://www.humanewatch.org/10-things-you-should-know-about-hsus/
https://www.humanewatch.org/real_simple/
http://awesomeocean.com/news/breaking-hsus-loses-charity-rating/
https://m.huffingtonpost.ca/douglas-anthony-cooper/humane-society_b_1943902.html
If you knew her, you would know that she has devoted the last 19 years of her life to trying to help unwanted and abandoned pets. She has given homes and care to animals that no one else wanted and no other rescue would take. Animals that would have died in the streets or been immediately euthanized at other rescues.
This includes kittens who needed bottle feed, senior cats, cats with FeLuk and FIV, cats with feline herpes, cats with seizures, stroke survivors and a multitude of other health issues. She had also taken in pregnant cats, animals that are not house broken, feral and semi feral cats. These cats would be euthanized at most other no-kill rescues due to the cost of care, the time needed for their care and due to the fact that they are not adoptable.
The majority of the animals that are brought to her are from people who tried calling all the large rescues and we're repeatedly told "No", they would not take the animal; so they bring them to her. She takes them in because she knows what will happen to them if she didn't: They will be abandoned or killed.
A large portion of the funds needed to run the rescue come from her own pocket because donations are few and far between. In 2016, the rescue was hit by a tornado which did a substantial amount of damage to the roof and despite her repeated cries for help and donations; no one really seemed to care. The news would not cover it, she hardly got any shares on Facebook, few people showed up to their fundraisers and all the rescues she called for assistance did not want to help.
After years of trying to raise funds, she bought a new building with money that she received as a settlement from getting hurt at work, just so she could move the animals to safety. She also used a large chunk of her own money to fix the building up. She had over 75% of the animals moved to the new, safe location already. One more week and they would have all been moved.
Her house was falling apart because she had spent every waking moment of the last 8 months working on the new rescue, fundraising and caring for the animals that she had no time to deal with the mounting issues in her own home. (Her house was also damaged by the tornado.) And she was okay with this as long as the animals were going to be safe. She figured after they were moved to safety, she would start to address the problems in her own house and property.
But after all of that, she is now being wrongfully charged with animal torture for not seeking veterinary care for animals with untreatable terminal conditions who were in hospice care until it was their time. This just isn't right.
She was able to find excellent legal counsel but the fees to clear her name will be exorbitant. If you believe in her or believe in her cause, please donate to show your support. If you believe that the Humane Society of the United States is a fraudulent group that exaggerates situations to boost donations when, in fact, less than 1% of the money they raise actually helps animals and they do not, in fact, have any shelters: Not one of her animals are in their care and yet they are using pictures of her animals to raise money that will in no way benefit these animals. This is fraud. If you agree this is nothing more than a publicity stunt to raise money, please donate in order to help her overcome this travesty of Justice.
If you are on the fence about her guilt or innocence, contemplate this: one of the HSUS paid employees said it was the worst she'd ever seen. If this is as bad as she said It is, then why did they only show footage of a handful of animals? Why not show all 150 cats? Could it be because the others were perfectly healthy?
They also only showed the cats in cages. Why didn't they show the cats running loose in the rooms? They made a fuss about them being in cages. The average cage was 32 to 42 inches. Over 50 cats were running free because they were spayed, neutered or tested for FeLuk and FIV. Now they are all in cages that are much smaller than 32 inches. How is this an improvement?
The cat they show blowing bubbles out her nose is Laylar Bean. She has herpes, which in cats are lesions inside the sinus cavity. The stress from the move had made the symptoms worse. No amount of vet care in the world will cure this. Holistic home treatment does keep the condition stable.
The dirty black and white cat is Bamboo. Bamboo is semi feral and just a rather gross cat. He likes to move his water bowl over to his litter box and then shovel poop from his litter box into it. He also likes to pee in his water bowl. The continued movement of his water bowl spills water onto the tray and then he rolls in it.
He is also in a cage with Kaleehsie. She likes to poop next to her food bowl and then cover it with their grain free food. Their cage had just been completely scrubbed the day before last and she had just given Bamboo a bath last week. Some animals just don't have good hygiene skills which is why she has them.
She begged for donations for 3 years after being hit by the tornado and no one wanted to donate to repair the building. Now everyone is donating money to 3 different organizations that don't even have the cats because some we're found in the dilapidated remains of the building no one was willing to help fix before she was able to move them all out. She did not fail these animals, the community failed this rescue. She was one person holding back a mountain with her bare hands asking for help that never came.
Just a few things to think about.
https://www.humanewatch.org/10-things-you-should-know-about-hsus/
https://www.humanewatch.org/real_simple/
http://awesomeocean.com/news/breaking-hsus-loses-charity-rating/
https://m.huffingtonpost.ca/douglas-anthony-cooper/humane-society_b_1943902.html
Organizer and beneficiary
Michael Stehley
Organizer
Blairsville, PA
Christie Harr
Beneficiary
