Thank you, Millie, for your very rational post on the Va. Beach
situation. I have been thinking much the same thing. AC normally
doesn't go in and confiscate a bunch of animals just for the hell of
it. There either has to be a history, or conditions must be so horrific
that they have no choice. After all, their job is to protect
defenseless animals.

The other thought I have is why no one knew conditions had reached this
level. So many people have posted that they know Carole well, talk to
her daily/regularly, know of her medical condition(s), etc. Why didn't
anyone pick up on the seriousness of the problem? What clues were
missed? Instead of blaming everyone else for the situation, look at
what you might have overlooked in your day-to-day dealings with her.

I do ferret rescue out of my home. I have an emergency network in
place. I also have people in and out of my house all of the time, both
ferret friends and other animal rescue people. I hope someone will
recognize if things start getting out of hand and act on it. I hope
they don't close their eyes to it and let things continue to
deteriorate. Because most people who visit my home are in animal
rescue, I doubt they would ignore the signs.

All we can do is learn from each of these terrible rescues, and try to
prevent them from happening again.
 
Katharine

[Posted in FML 5873]