Thursday April 3, 2008, 7:26 am

Visit site at http://tinyurl.com/2o3wzg.

Donate to the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA) Tiger Ranch Raid Fund at: http://www.pspca.org/donate/online.

In "Dedicated to:" field, enter:

Tiger Ranch Raid

Thursday April 3, 2008, 7:27 am
Thnx Dave!

Thursday April 3, 2008, 9:08 am
Oh dear this is awful Dave, noted thank`s.

Thursday April 3, 2008, 9:16 am
Dave - I got half way through it and that's it... it's sick! 100's of cats... and they all need medical attention badly. Thanks for this Dave!

Thursday April 3, 2008, 9:26 am
utterly tragic and unnaceptable thi situation did not have to occur
even if she got overwhelmed there should have been set into place reciprocal shelter emrgency something to help the cats

Thursday April 3, 2008, 9:36 am
Absolutely outrageous! Noted...

Thursday April 3, 2008, 10:14 am
I am posting this for another member of Care2 who was blocked by Dave because his opinion on this issue differed.

A letter from Chris DeRose found on Best Friends site

"I feel compelled to tell you the truth about Tiger Ranch from my
perspective. I have been doing investigations now for over 30 years into
every type of animal issue you can think of. LCA has been responsible for
putting the first people in State and Federal prisons, had the first
government licensed dealer to have his license permanently removed, as of
today got the first dogs [11 of them] out of a laboratory and into a
sanctuary to be placed in great homes, and the list goes on and on. LCA’s
SIU [Special Investigations Unit] and I are extremely meticulous about
acquiring the proper evidence for a case. We don’t shoot for 100% but for
150% so there is NO question about the case. We are the only organization
who can say they have worked with the US Attorney’s office and 6 other
Federal Agencies to get an indictment and conviction and sentencing on the
most notorious USDA Class B dealer in the country - CC Baird. This also
extends to several of the largest cock fighting busts in the United States
as well as many other cases. We have been termed the "FBI of Animal Rights" by media. LCA represents thorough and careful examination of every case. We will not get emotionally involved so we can keep a clear perspective on the objectivity of the investigation. This is very hard for many people - myself included - to separate their emotions from their intellect. However if one is to come up with an unbiased conclusion of guilt or innocence they must "separate their emotions form their intellect".

Everyone who has seen this video automatically assumes that Tiger
Ranch is an evil place or "hell hole" for animals and that Lin Marie is a
horrid cold callous person who would allow these animals to suffer and die
the way it has been portrayed in the video. After so many years of doing
investigations and being extremely thorough I can tell you without a doubt
these accusations are not only misleading and false but they couldn’t be
further from the truth. I wouldn’t stake my reputation or LCA’s on
something I know is FALSE and trying to change it unless we knew "150%" that we were right.

There is an ole saying from the thirties -[paraphrasing] "if you
tell a big enough lie enough times to enough people they will think it’s the truth". That was by Joseph Goebbels the Minister of Propaganda for the Nazi party. People have been jumping to conclusions because of this video. You can go into the best sanctuary or shelter in the country and if you wait long enough and look hard enough you will find something that is not up to speed and capture it on camera. Lin Marie admits "she is not perfect but they do their very best to give these animals a second chance at life".

It is not only sad what has been done to TR and Lin Marie but a travesty to take away such a facility and then euthanize [another word for kill] many of these animals who may have been saved. Anyone who has gone out to this facility as I have would see that these people really care and that the facility itself is in very good shape. Most of the housing is relatively new buildings or at least they look new. I have dozens of pictures from people who have visited this place at the time of this video and couldn’t rave enough about its operation. If it were such a bad place LCA would have taken on this case and put them out of business as we have done many times before!

It is true that LCA was contacted back in October of 07, but it is
not true that "we were unable to take on this case". It was LCA’s clear
decision to "refuse this case" on the grounds that the evidence gathered was inflammatory and not portraying an accurate picture. Our preliminary
research showed a whole different side of TR and Lin Marie. It showed that
they were indeed helping many animals from certain demise. So we "refused"
to go after one lone woman with her small band of dedicated volunteers who
were doing there very best to help the community with their discarded, sick, dying, and feral cats. The same people who have just dumped their cats off at TR are now so concerned over their welfare. There is something wrong with that picture. These few individual also have jumped on this band wagon or should I say witch hunt to bring down TR. They are caught up with emotions not reason! I wish they would have been so caring before they discard their companion animal.

I will say that I was very pro euthanasia before this case and to
some extent still am but I have learned much in the process and that is many if not most of these animals with these virus’s [such as the Calici virus] and illnesses look really horrible but most of the animals can make a full recovery. So why kill them? What I see here is nothing more than an
extremely different point of view between the PSPCA, my former investigator Mike Winikoff, and others who would rather see these animals "euthanized" than have a chance at recovery. When I first saw some of these conditions my first instinct was "these animals were better off dead than suffering like this". Well if we all shared that reasoning many of us in car accidents or have cancer or some other disease would be "euthanized" on the spot. Maybe we all need to take another look at this and weigh out the good vs. the bad. I have walked away from this case with a little different perspective.

It is appalling to see the PSPCA and others involved in hurting TR
who has done so much good and not go after the puppy mills right in their
back yard. When PSPCA says "this is the worse case they ever saw" they
should be ashamed of that statement since the state of "Pennsylvania is the Puppy Mill Capital of the Nation" and is riddled with horrendous conditions at the mills where countless thousands of puppies and adults suffer horribly every day. Why isn’t the PSPCA doing something about them? It’s always easier to go after the small sanctuary and blow it out of proportion and potentially make a lot of money from donations and who knows that maybe another new TV show will emerge out of this.

One of the reasons we were first to be asked to investigate TR by
the informant is that they needed "LCA’s expertise in the investigations
field and legal issues." If the conditions of the facility are so horrible
as the media states then why has it taken so many months to get so little
video when LCA got 76 crucial hours of incriminating video as well as
hundreds of photographs and data in about 5 months of undercover
investigation putting the largest USDA government federally licensed dealer permanently out of business? If our investigations weren’t so thorough then why did HBO do a 75 minute documentary Dealing Dogs? And why have so many Federal Agencies work with us on this case?

If this so called investigation began seven months ago as the media
reported, they must have started in August, two months before the Western
Pennsylvania Human Society did their investigation and saw nothing wrong
with the facility. PSPCA Director Howard Nelson labeled Lin Marie a
"hoarder" and stated that "this facility is a classical hoarding situation!" Does a hoarder work tirelessly to spay and neuter many hundreds of animals per year at a lower cost than most local vets or shelters? "If she is a hoarder, why is she so courteous, patient, compassionate, and non judgmental of others?" says one supporter. TR is a sanctuary that has become home to cats in poor health and cats that no one wants or would help. The descriptions by PSPCA’S Rogers, Nelson, Winikoff, and the informant are so inflammatory they are deserving of legal action.
I can only hope for everyone’s sake these individuals come to their
senses and drop this case immediately, stop the killing of the remaining
animals, and return them to TR where they belong and can live their lives
out peacefully.

Chris DeRose
President and Founder
Last Chance for Animals - LCA
www.lcanimal.org

Link to LCA photos of Tiger Ranch:
http://www.lcanimal.org/alert/tiger/index.html"

Thursday April 3, 2008, 11:26 am
First off, a tiger ranch has no buisnes being in PA. Wrong weather.
These poor animals need to be moved to a suitable place so they can live out there lives with love and proper care.

Thursday April 3, 2008, 12:01 pm
All you have to do is look at the video to know the truth. Filth and sick cats everywhere. This woman might have meant well but this is horrible!

Thursday April 3, 2008, 12:05 pm

See also:

“CATASTROPHE IN TARENTUM--Tiger Ranch Sanctuary Raided, 750 Cats Seized ~ VIDEO.” at

“RAID AT TARENTUM PA ~ Video Shows Dead, Sick Cats At TIGER RANCH ~ Undercover Footage Obtained Before SPCA Raid.” at

“TARENTUM PA ~ 100's of Rescued Tiger Ranch Cats Get Tender Care ~ Unavailable to Adopt Till Criminal Case Resolved, Cats Healthy.” at

“RAID AT TARENTUM ~ ASPCA Aids in Anti-Cruelty Raid of Record Proportions at TIGER RANCH ~ Linda Bruno Refuses to Surrender Cats.” at

“RAID AT TARENTUM ~ Duquesne U Biology Professor, Students Assist Tiger Ranch Raid ~ Deadly, Ebola-Like Calicivirus Afflicts Cats.” at

Thursday April 3, 2008, 12:07 pm

Oops! Try again:

See also:

“CATASTROPHE IN TARENTUM--Tiger Ranch Sanctuary Raided, 750 Cats Seized ~ VIDEO.” at http://tinyurl.com/2g54e6

“RAID AT TARENTUM PA ~ Video Shows Dead, Sick Cats At TIGER RANCH ~ Undercover Footage Obtained Before SPCA Raid.” at http://tinyurl.com/2yd72m

“TARENTUM PA ~ 100's of Rescued Tiger Ranch Cats Get Tender Care ~ Unavailable to Adopt Till Criminal Case Resolved, Cats Healthy.” at http://tinyurl.com/34dwed

“RAID AT TARENTUM ~ ASPCA Aids in Anti-Cruelty Raid of Record Proportions at TIGER RANCH ~ Linda Bruno Refuses to Surrender Cats.” at http://tinyurl.com/2f9dog

“RAID AT TARENTUM ~ Duquesne U Biology Professor, Students Assist Tiger Ranch Raid ~ Deadly, Ebola-Like Calicivirus Afflicts Cats.” at http://tinyurl.com/2zabtp

Thursday April 3, 2008, 12:26 pm
This is so horrible. Disgusting. Noted. Thanks for all your hard work Dave.

Thursday April 3, 2008, 12:41 pm
WHERE WAS THE MEDICAL TREATMENT THAT WAS OBVIOUSLY NEEDED SO BAD AND WHERE WAS THE HUMANE LIVING CONDITIONS THEY WERE INTITALED TO THIS IS TERRIBLE. PEOPLE LIKE THAT DON'T NEED TO BE IN CHARGE OF ANY LIFEFORM

Thursday April 3, 2008, 12:49 pm
The video is compelling enough to know who is
telling the truth and who isn't.
There seems to be a lot of denial in the face of
evidence about the horrible existence that these
cats suffered through.
The picture is worth more than a thousand words.
Justice.

Thursday April 3, 2008, 1:04 pm
Noted with great sadness. Couldn't bear to watch!

Thursday April 3, 2008, 2:01 pm
I am posting this for yet another Care2 member who has been blocked from posting his or her opinions in these news2notes because they don't agree with his. I'm sure I'll be blocked too as soon as I post this. We'll see.

For those of you who still have open minds, there is more to this story than you are being told here

http://kdka.com/local/Tiger.Ranch.raid.2.690849.html

Thursday April 3, 2008, 2:34 pm
Awful, awful. This should not go unpunished!

Thursday April 3, 2008, 2:43 pm
This hurts to know because I love tigers - I'm so glad they weren't put to death as seems to be the reaction so often by officials. It's good that they are now receiving care they deserve. How about they go to a sanctuary not adopted out to people who might not know how to care for wild cats. These cats deserve nothing but the best from here on...Noted.

Thursday April 3, 2008, 4:32 pm
I have just watched the video and my god, that is horrible, very sad and disgraceful! You can clearly see that those poor cats needed medical treatment, they are/were living in appalling conditions, i couldn't see any cat beds, just a couple of raggy towels on a concrete floor! One litter tray, which was filthy, basically their whole housing conditions are disgraceful. There was even a freezer full of dead cats! now that is definitely wrong and very shocking.
I'm sorry but how can anyone say that they were doing right by these cats!
Taken from what Chelsea has put from another member, (sorry Chelsea this isn't aimed at you :)) :*I can only hope for everyone’s sake these individuals come to their
senses and drop this case immediately, stop the killing of the remaining
animals, and return them to TR where they belong and can live their lives
out peacefully*. Hmm you cannot be serious! The cats need to be medically treated and rehomed to people who will love and take care of them, they deserve that.

Thursday April 3, 2008, 4:33 pm
Sorry Dave, noted thank you.

Thursday April 3, 2008, 5:20 pm
Dave thankyou for bringing this to Light.How CRUEL AND HEARTLESS.Also noted.

Thursday April 3, 2008, 5:25 pm
This is disgusting and I hope charges are pending. They should be banned from any type of animal care, including personal pets!!

Thursday April 3, 2008, 6:55 pm
Dave--- I couldn't watch the whole video. those poor cats, my heart is breaking for them. I just don't understand how a person can let this happen.
Sadly, thank you for the information. Noted

Thursday April 3, 2008, 7:27 pm
Oh my stars, everybody should be alerted to the fact they started a petition to drop all charges on her:( Please don't ANYBODY send me this petition. It's one I will NOT sign.

Thursday April 3, 2008, 9:48 pm
Dave,
Like many of the others, I couldn't get through this whole movie. It made me sick! Why do people even get animals when they can't care for them properly. I love my kitties, and dogs just as if they are my children.

Friday April 4, 2008, 12:48 am
This is absolutely disgusting.it makes me sick too to say the least. Wish there was more to do to help - spreading the word is the only thing I can do from down here. Would love to treat these so called humans in the same way!!!!!!

Friday April 4, 2008, 3:08 am
This is so awful - are though no offical welfare/government organisations that can step in and help these cats?

In the UK, the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Protection of Animals) has the power to step in and close a place like this; prosecute the owner and re-home the animals.

I hope there is something that can be done SOON to help save these animals x

Friday April 4, 2008, 5:22 am
I've just watched the video,that's horrible it made me cry.I hope there are people who can help those innocent animals.Unfortunately I can't help them.

Friday April 4, 2008, 6:43 am
This is truly disgusting and heartbreaking, to say the least. Those poor animals are suffering horribly. Something has got to be done about this.

Friday April 4, 2008, 10:22 am
God bless these sweet, baby, cats! And may God bless you, Dave, for taking such important steps to help cats. I can't watch the video, it will rip my very soul out. I will have a talk with God about this.

Sadly noted.

Friday April 4, 2008, 12:14 pm
It makes me mad that people are sticking up for her too. She was able to post her $50,000 bond to get out of jail, but she couldn't get care for these poor sick cats. Alot of them had to be euthanized because of their shape. SPCA doesn't euthanize an animal unless it is in bad shape. You could see on the videos how bad the conditions of these cats were, and mixed in with the healthy ones. It was a death camp.

Friday April 4, 2008, 12:49 pm
I watched and couldn't help but shed tears. And the one thing that kept running through my mind, as I continued to watch, was the word, "sanctuary." I saw NOTHING that evern remotely honors the word.

So noted!

Friday April 4, 2008, 3:25 pm
That horribly shot video doesn't PROVE a thing. I didn't see any evidence of feces or filth. I repeat, as an animal rescuer, we have been given sick and dying cats that are discarded by their owners in favour of a new kitten. Alot of the times they are just left in front of our doors in cardboard boxes. I notice that alot of posts condemn this woman and her efforts. How many of you posters have actually EVER done any rescue? Perhaps, if you had, you know what people like us are really up against. AND, Sarah, the Oakland SPCA is one of the WORST so called SPCA's in the country. I have gotten sick cats out of there that went IN perfectly healthy. Once, a very sick kitten was given to me to foster and when I picked it up from the 'kitten' room and watched how the staff was handling kittens and adult cats (not once did 3 of their staff sanitize between touching the new animals) I could see why so much disease and sickness went through that so called 'shelter'. AND the SPCA DOES euthanize healthy cats especially newborn bottle feed needing kittens, so unless you have first hand knowledge to the contrary, you shouldn't make comments such as the ones you posted. I agree the video was sad to look at but perhaps you should look again. I didn't see evidence of the filth that are contained in some of the reports. Quite the contrary, actually.

Friday April 4, 2008, 3:41 pm
oh and one last note....It is easy to say that these cats should be taken away and rehomed but until you have done the years of rescue I have and have seen how hard it is to rehome a 13 year old blind cat with incontinence issues, you need to look at all sides of this issue. In no way do I condone letting an animal suffer needlessly, but when politics enters into rescue, the waters get very muddied. Have some compassion and save your comments till all of the evidence has been presented.

Friday April 4, 2008, 4:20 pm

See also:

“Undercover Tiger Ranch Worker Threatened” at http://kdka.com/video/?id=39475@kdka.dayport.com.

“The woman who worked nine months at the Tiger Ranch Sanctuary says she’s received serious threats since last week’s raid: KDKA’s Marty Griffin reports.”

Friday April 4, 2008, 4:21 pm
I totally agree with you Maggi. Thank you for being a voice of reason. Linn Marie has been operating Tiger Ranch for years with animal welfare groups, volunteers and visitors coming and going regularly. This "sting" and the way it was handled makes no sense and that selectively shot video proves nothing. Another interesting fact: the PSPCA has a contract with Animal Planet, whose representatives were also at the raid. I am also posting this for a friend who has been blocked from commenting on this News2Note by Dave; he said he had to go through quite a few blocked friends before asking me. And I'll sure after Dave reads this, I'll be blocked too.

Friday April 4, 2008, 4:31 pm
Not wanting to enter the fray and take sides I just want to say one thing.

Those cats on the film need help fast. i hope they get it soonest.

Friday April 4, 2008, 4:52 pm

See also:

“PSPCA Saves the Lives of Hundreds of Cats at Tiger Ranch” at http://pspca.org/news?id=89.

“‘She [Lin Marie] described it as a sanctuary. I describe it as just pure hell.’ Those were the words of Pennsylvania SPCA (PSPCA) CEO Howard Nelson as he stood outside Tiger Ranch Cat Sanctuary in Tarentum, Pa., site of one of the biggest anti-cruelty raids in state history.

“On March 13, with a warrant obtained from the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, 120 animal welfare experts from the PSPCA and the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) searched the 28-acre property located 22 miles northeast of Pittsburgh on the Allegheny River. What they found was disturbing —cats living in squalor in multiple buildings. ‘The smell permeating not only from the buildings designated for the cats, but also from her home was horrific,’ said Nelson. ‘The ammonia odor from the urine made it impossible to breathe in some rooms. The floors, walls and even Lin Marie’s bathtub were covered in feces and blood.’ ”

Friday April 4, 2008, 4:53 pm

Donate to the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA) Tiger Ranch Raid Fund at: http://www.pspca.org/donate/online.

In "Dedicated to:" field, enter:

Tiger Ranch Raid

Friday April 4, 2008, 10:15 pm
Sadly noted. Thanks Dave!

Saturday April 5, 2008, 1:23 am
this is awful, Dave
Noted with grief

Saturday April 5, 2008, 4:20 am
That is so sad. maybe she meant well but it is terrible she should have sought help if she could not cope properly.

Saturday April 5, 2008, 6:29 am
This is terrible, there has got to be a put an end to this type of so called shelter where these animals are obviously not taken care of and abused.

Saturday April 5, 2008, 9:19 am
All these cats were terribly sick, and I can't understand why it gets sofar, somebody should have pulled the plug a lot earlier. And it just seems to go on and on.

Saturday April 5, 2008, 4:56 pm
Noted, thank you Dave

Sunday April 6, 2008, 3:10 am
noted and thanks Dave for making folks aware!

Sunday April 6, 2008, 3:34 pm
I THINK THE ANIMALS WERE RUNING THE RANCH !!!! ACTUALLY, THATS AN INSULT 2 THE ANIMALS.

Monday April 7, 2008, 7:45 pm
Thanks Dave! Please search Tiger Ranch on Care2 and note all of the stories to help our cause!

Tuesday April 8, 2008, 1:36 am
Even if the rest of the place was wonderful, it does not justify for what has been shown in those images. What I've seen will haunt me forever. "One lone woman with her small band of dedicated volunteers" as quoted in the above article, obviously is not sufficient for properly caring for this many animals--and that is much of the problem. Given the great numbers of animals in this place, it is humanly impossible to give the care needed based on what is stated. And the argument that many of the cats were euthanized instead of being treated for Calcivirus--this has been documented in some of the cases as not the ordinary strain and thus, to risk exposing the other cats to this virulent form of it with only ten outbreaks noted in recent years could have been the reason. I do not wish to justify trying not to save any of them, but obviously there were serious risks given this fact.

Tuesday April 8, 2008, 1:38 am
Even if the rest of the place was wonderful, it cannot justify for what has been shown in those images. What I've seen will haunt me forever. "One lone woman with her small band of dedicated volunteers" as quoted in the above article, obviously is not sufficient for properly caring for this number of animals--and that is much of the problem. Given the great numbers of animals in this place, it is humanly impossible to give the care needed based on what is stated. The argument that many of the cats were euthanized instead of being treated for Calcivirus--this has been documented in some of the cases as not the ordinary strain and thus, to risk exposing the other cats to this virulent form of it with only ten outbreaks noted in recent years could have been the reason. I do not wish to justify trying not to save any of them, but obviously there were serious risks given this fact.

Saturday April 12, 2008, 4:57 pm

See also:

“Tiger Ranch Rescue • Tarentum, PA” at http://tigerranchrescue.info.

“Tiger Ranch Rescue photo gallery” at http://tinyurl.com/538l5m.

“Tiger Ranch Rescue donations and wish list” at http://tinyurl.com/3k68bg.

Saturday April 12, 2008, 5:45 pm
Just be sure you check PSPCA's views on which animals they save and which they euthanize. The numbers of cats they claim were at Tiger Ranch vary widely. As soon as the survivors got to the Clarion facility, PSPCA began bloodtesting all the cats and on the basis of a blood test, even if non-symptomatic, PSPCA began euthanizing. They will not let anyone in the facility to get on the welfare of the animals so everyone has to take their word for it. However, it you check the Internet you will see that PSPCA's CEO has gone on record as saying that animals that have fleas and earmites, roundworms and other highly treatable conditions are not "adoptable". Despite his claims, the kill rate at PSPCA is still in the upper 70%. Most animals never even get put up for adoption. That is certainly the case with any surviving Tiger Ranch animal. You watch. No feral cat will survive at the hands of the PSPCA. They have no place to put them and they can't be handled. I noted on one Pennsylvania SPCA blog that PA considers feral cats "vermin". At the heart of this controversy is Kill vs. No Kill. None of these cats will ever get out of the Clarion facility alive--no matter how nice the words coming out of PSPCA are! This is largely a publicity grab. PSPCA has a $6 million dollar plus annual budget and they have already raised $58,000 to care for the Tiger Ranch cats. How much money do they need to take care of the surviving 200 cats? Especially considering they say they are nusing them back to health, only to eventually euthanize them after the court case is over because there is no sanctuary to take them and you will see that PSPCA will not give them shelter.

Sunday April 13, 2008, 2:17 pm

Donate to the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA) Tiger Ranch Raid Fund at: http://www.pspca.org/donate/online.

In "Dedicated to:" field, enter:

Tiger Ranch Raid

Monday April 14, 2008, 6:29 pm
Deborah that is not true. There are plenty of animals in critical condition, some on IVs, getting the same treatment a human in the ER would. The lies being spread that PSPCA is just euthing for the sake of euthing are not true. The only animals being euthed were the ones that were literally unsavable by any means and would only suffer greatly during a slow inevitable death.

Friday April 18, 2008, 10:53 am
noted thanks

Thursday February 12, 2009, 4:36 am
Past Member--It's too bad the IV lines were just for show. How naive are you people? Do you really think that the PSPCA cats get that sort of treatment? I will be posting lots and lots of new info on here. Listen up Dave/Howie/Infoman or whatever name you're going by these days.

Friday February 13, 2009, 4:26 am
Howie resigned!!!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!!!!! I hope he ends up in jail.