ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, August 12, 1996 TAG: 9608120094
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: FRONT ROYAL
Angry that their neighbor was acquitted of charges that she kidnapped one of their cats and had it spayed, a Warren County family has given four other cats to the local animal shelter.
Brian Brehm said he hoped they find another home. ``Basically, we did this so she wouldn't be able to put my kids through this again. We don't want to give her any excuse to harass us again,'' Brehm said.
Brehm and his wife, Audrey, had accused Leilani Monahan of taking their cat Goober and having her spayed without their permission. They said Monahan had done the same thing to another one of their cats two years ago.
Monahan admitted having both cats spayed, but said she thought they had been abandoned. She said she decided to have Goober fixed after she caught her cavorting with a tomcat that has a deadly feline virus.
A judge last week found Monahan, a Warren County magistrate, innocent of misdemeanor catnapping charge and a charge of defacing the animal.
Monahan said she was ``absolutely heartbroken'' to hear the Brehms had taken their four cats to the shelter. She said she was considering adopting the cats herself or helping them find new homes.
``When I heard, I just sat there and cried,'' she said. ``I just feel so terribly bad. ... If I was the kind of person who just went out and stole other people's cats, I've had plenty of opportunity. Those cats were always in my yard.''
The Brehms are keeping Goober and their other spayed cat, Maggie.
Brehm said the family is considering further legal action.
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