I wish someone would help me out when I make bonehead mistakes.
You know, I'm glad that McKamey wasn't reimbursed for the full amount. I hope they do learn some kind of lesson from this experience. Namely, that they should not try to prosecute legal pet or animal businesses just because they don't like them on moral grounds. It is legal in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and elsewhere, to sell pets in pet stores, even though animal rights people (and that includes McKamey) don't like it. An animal control agency should not go on a mission to shut down legal businesses just because they don't approve of them. Nor should they try to exaggerate evidence or seize animals. There are still some judges who won't go along with those tactics.
Group helps McKamey recover costs
Staff Report
The McKamey Animal Center, out about $50,000 last year after a judge dismissed animal cruelty charges that city animal control officers brought against the Pet Company store in Hamilton Place mall, has gotten help from the ASPCA.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals earlier this month gave McKamey a $15,000 grant to help defray the center's cost for caring for the 84 animals taken from the store last summer after a Tennessee Department of Agriculture inspector found them without water and rolling around in their own feces in extreme heat.
The cases were dismissed by a special appointed judge after Chattanooga City Judge Sherry Paty declared a mistrial and recused herself in July, citing a July 1 email from Mayor Ron Littlefield urging her to not "leave McKamey holding the bag" for more than $40,000 in expenses.
A few days later, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture said Pet Company would be able to keep its state operating license after store officials agreed to comply with conditions laid out by the department.
Karen Walsh, executive director of the McKamey Animal Center, said in a prepared statement that she is grateful to the ASPCA, particularly for its recognition of the efforts of the center and assistance to help Chattanooga recoup some of the money spent protecting the animals involved in this highly publicized case.
"The cost of animal care during cases like this one often break animal welfare organizations, and many decide not to prosecute," she said.
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I wonder if perhaps the $15K IS the full amount of McKamey's actual expenses, which are likely rather lower than what they tried to charge.
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Good point. Maybe ASPCA required itemized expenses and $15K was the actual cost they could show they spent on the Pet Company animals. Kind of makes you wonder about a lot of those sky-high bills that shelters and rescues present when they demand to be reimbursed by breeders after seizures, doesn't it?
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