Two Persian cats thrown into the Willamette River in Springfield, Oregon on the night of Friday November 30, 2012 were rescued by local police officers after an eyewitness called for help.
Given the specialty breed of the dumped cats, Springfield Animal Control Officer Brian Austin directed his investigation to well known local Persian cat breeder Betty Gould, a woman his office had gotten many complaints about over the years. Officer Gould identified the rescued cats as Gould’s during a search at her Snowbunnies Persians website. Gould was arrested and charged with Aggravated Animal Abuse and Abandonment. Her trail is set for January 30.
Ms. Gould agreed to give up the 50 or 60 cats kept at her house, then abruptly changed her mind, leaving an unknown number of cats still in her possession. Local animal advocates are frustrated that the cats were not freed up, and that their status is unknown.
For details on the case, see our earlier stories, Persian Breeder Charged for Trying to Drown Cats: Advocates Mount Campaign and Embattled Persian Breeder Agrees to Surrender Cats.
We received an email message this week from Georgene Hoester, who has adopted the two cats at the center of the case.
Georgene writes:
I adopted Hope and Faith, the 2 Persians that were dumped in the River. They are beautiful, loving, healthy, friendly cats. My vet, Thomas Fincel at Four Corners Vet, was pleasantly surprised at their conditions as well as attitude & behavior. We expected something to be seriously wrong with them or maybe they would be almost feral or unfriendly due to the horrendous act of trying to kill them by throwing them in the river in a trash bag.
Not that anything would warrant that act on any kind of animal but it’s hard to believe that 2 pure bred Persians, both healthy, both loving, could end up in this situation. Faith did have a genetic defect where her eyelashes grew into her eye but it was fixed with a simple with surgery & she gets her stitches out Thursday afternoon.
I am disturbed that no one knows what has happened to the other 60 cats Betty Gould had. She claims she has given them away but I also know she is still trying to sell them online. Here is the most recent article on the situation.
Georgene also included a petition organized by Jill Winans at WAGS, in Eugene. Jill’s note and petition follow at bottom.
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Gail Zadakis, of the all volunteer West Coast Dog and Cat Rescue organization has been deeply concerned with the case and the 50 or 60 cats whose whereabouts is unknown. she brought to our attention a change.org petition seeking prosecution of Betty Gould to the fullest extent of the law, and asking that the remaining cats be removed from her possession.
You can sign the change.org petition by clicking the title: Prosecute Betty Gould to the fullest extent of the law for animal abuse
The organizers, and Springfield/Eugene area animal lovers and animal advocates would appreciate your help signing and sharing the petition, as the court date draws near.
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Jill Winans’ petition asking the court to prosecute the case rigorously is being handled differently from the change.org and other online petition site petitions most of us have become accustomed to using. The organizer asks signers to copy, cut, & paste to an email & send to [email protected] by Jan the 23rd. Hope and Faith’s adopter says she would appreciate our signatures, and says, the more signature the better.
It is as follows.
Dear concerned citizens:
The trial of Betty Gould, the notorious Persian breeder who attempted to throw two cats into the Willamette river on Nov. 30, takes place at the Springfield Municipal Courthouse on January 30th at 1:30 pm. I hope whoever can come will show up. In the meantime, I have put together this e-petition to send to Matthew Cox, the City Prosecutor. Please sign as indicated, indicating any titles or organizations you belong to, and send it to whomever you feel has the desire to see Betty Gould convicted. Please forward it with this note kept on top, then please, whoever has it on January 23, forward it back to me at [email protected] and I will send it to Cox. I feel that this is a better strategy than flooding him with individual e-mails; however, to be effective, it means forwarding it fast in order to get as many names as possible. Thanks for your concern and cooperation.
Jill Winans, WAG S/N Clinic
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Please copy, cut, & paste to email & send to [email protected] by Jan the 23rd.
Mr. Matthew Cox, City Prosecutor
City Of Springfield
Dear Mr. Cox:
We, the undersigned, wish to bring to your attention our support of the conviction of Betty Gould on January 30, 2013, of the counts of aggravated animal abuse and animal abandonment that are charged against her. We feel that these types of crimes are too often ignored or dropped and that the actions of Ms Gould are too blatant to dismiss. The time has come to enforce these laws as they are written, and we urge that the ultimate penalties allowed be inflicted. The cats within her “care” should be confiscated and there are local and national rescue organizations ready to take on responsibility for these animals.
Thank you for your consideration.
About Author
signed
Needs to be prosecuted to the fullest.
Hopefully this is how you sign a petition. ?
Never to have animals again!
Needs to be prosecuted to the fullest.