Wednesday, Mar. 30, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | Woman jailed for cat spaying mixupBy LEE WILLIAMS After a state court ruling in her favor, Sherri Duncan of Newnan is hopeful others who adopt a pet from the Fayette County Animal Shelter wont have to go through the same ordeal she went through due to a paperwork foul-up. Fayette County State Court Judge Fletcher Sams dismissed an active bench warrant against the 35-year-old Coweta County resident after learning she signed a blank citation when adopting a cat named Boo from the shelter and never received notices alerting her to a problem. No. 1, Im going to approve the dismissal of the charge. No. 2, I want you to know the bench warrant would not have been issued had I known this was a blank citation, Sams told Duncan in court Monday. Sams ordered all bench warrants be dismissed in similar cases and he also ordered shelter officials to take action. Im also going to order animal control to cease that process immediately, Sams said. It should be illegal Duncan is somewhat pleased by the actions the judge took. She said it should be illegal for an agency to make you sign a blank arrest citation. Sams learned about Duncans arrest in a Newnan newspaper and held a pre-trial hearing with the state court solicitor general and the public defender to get to the bottom of the matter. That was my point behind it: Not letting this happen to anybody else, Duncan said. But the judges ruling, she said, did little to ease her suffering from the experience she suffered collectively from the shelter, the Coweta County and Fayette County sheriffs departments and Thomas Crossroads Veterinarian Clinic. Duncan said she is still hopping mad about the ordeal that caused her to spend several hours in jail earlier this month. And she demands the agencies give her a written apology. Im still upset because you know what happened happened and just because he dismissed it its not going to take it back, Duncan said as she stood outside the state courtroom with her husband, Bryan, 35. I was arrested because paperwork was not followed through, she said. The arrest On March 7, Duncan was arrested by the Newnan Police Department when she went to the station to obtain a criminal history report prior to starting a new job. Duncan, a mother of four who said she has never been arrested, was handcuffed and taken in custody after a check from the Georgia Crime Information Centers database revealed she was wanted on an outstanding bench warrant in Fayette County. The original charge stemmed from failing to alter a cat she adopted in April 2003. The procedure is usually performed by a licensed veterinarian and renders the animal unable to sexually reproduce. Duncan felt the arrest should have never happened. Helping a friend Duncan got the cat from another woman who considered putting it to sleep. The cat was sick and Duncan thought she could nurse it to health. She went to the animal shelter and transferred the paperwork in her name. Duncan said she had the cat, named Boo, spayed in June 2003 at Thomas Crossroads Veterinarian Clinic. She said the clinic told her they would forward the information to the shelter. Boo later died and Duncan forgot about the case. But her run-in with authorities jarred her memory. Duncan was transported her to the Coweta County Jail where she was booked. Next, she was taken to the Fayette County Jail where she was booked again. Its your responsibility Fayette County Animal Shelter Director Miguel Abi-hassan declined to discuss the specifics of Duncans case. But he said it is up to the person who signs the adoption agreement to notify the shelter that the pet has been fixed. Its your responsibility at the end of the day, Abi-hassan said. Its your name on the contract. It is a contractual obligation that is based on state law. If you pass that responsibility on to somebody else at the end of the day its still your responsibility. Abi-hassan displayed a copy of an adoption agreement stapled to a blank citation, which bore the signature of a recent client. The adoption contract specifies all animals must be spayed or neutered by a licensed veterinarian within 30 days of the sexual maturity of the animal. Proof must be provided within seven days of sterilization to the shelter via fax or mail to the shelter, the adoption contract states. I fully understand my responsibility as well as possible penalties which I could incur if I fail to meet my responsibility in a timely manner, the contract states. However, the contract does not specify what the penalties could be. Duncan said either the veterinarian clinic failed to forward the information to verify Boo had been spayed or shelter officials failed to document the information. In any case, Duncan contends she played by the rules and still lost. I did the right thing and I got arrested for it, Duncan said. Abi-hassan said officials try to notify people who fail to get their animal fixed by phone and mail several times before forwarding the information to the court system. He said 80 percent of adoptions go through without a hitch and he doesnt want the incident to affect the shelter and ultimately the animals at the shelter. We want this adoption to work out for you, Abi-hassan said. It only hurts the shelter and ultimately the animals for bad press regarding our adoption policies. Oftentimes, people get a notice, get the animal fixed, hand-deliver, or fax a copy of the paperwork and follow-up with a phone call to make sure the agency received it, and the case is dropped before it makes it to court. Ultimately, I hope that people understand that this event was an event that happened not just because of the shelter policies, but because the way the entire system works, Abi-hassan said. Reduce pet overpopulation Clients are instructed to get their animals adopted from the shelter fixed in accordance with state law to reduce pet overpopulation. About 4 to 6 million animals are destroyed each year in animal shelters due to overpopulation, officials say. But Duncan still contends she did get the cat fixed and she believes she should not have been treated the way that she was. She indicated she jail officials humiliated her. Even her 9-year-old son, who lost his best friend since the incident, has been adversely affected by her arrest, she said. They treated me like trash. Theyve laughed at me. Theyve accused me of being a shoplifter and Im not going to let it go, she said. Duncans husband later posted a bond for $255.50 and she was released. Since the case was dismissed, the couple will get $242 back. But the Duncans said they believe all the money should be returned. Just when she thought the nightmare was behind her, Fayette County officials tried to arrest her again on March 10 when she attempted to get some records. Whos going to pay They tried to arrest me again because the [Fayette] sheriffs department had not forwarded the information to the courthouse, Duncan said. So I want to know whos going to jail for that. They messed up paperwork. Whos going to pay for that. Duncan said she will never take another animal from anyone again. Its simply not worth the hassle it is caused for her and her family. When animals start having more rights than people, somethings wrong, she said. I do believe animals should be treated with respect, but when something like this happens, somethings wrong. |
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