THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 18, 1994 TAG: 9412160231
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JUDITH PARKER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
Legend has it that cats have nine lives. But for 18 felines who've been locked away in the Portsmouth Humane Society shelter since August, this Christmas might not be their season to be jolly.
The cats were just part and parcel of what the humane society's executive director Lewis Tefft describes as an ``animal house.''
``As I understand the situation, back in August, (Portsmouth) animal control got a call about bad animal odors coming from an apartment on Arlington Place,'' Tefft said.
When animal control workers investigated, they found 22 cats and kittens in an apartment leased to Samuel Lee Woodworth.
According to Tefft, Woodworth was charged with cruelty to animals and not having his animals vaccinated. Additionally, none of the cats had been spayed or neutered and many seemed malnourished, Tefft added.
The animals were transported to the shelter, and suddenly Tefft's space for homeless cats was depleted.
``Summertime is always a slow time for adoptions,'' Tefft said. But complicating the problem, I couldn't do anything with these 22 cats until I got permission from a judge and the city attorney's office to put them up for adoption.
When animals are picked up and placed in the shelter, owners have 10 days to correct any violations. Then the owners can try to regain custody.
In this particular case, however, the cat's owner was placed in a hospital, and Tefft could do nothing with the cats except provide room and board, costing $110 a day, a charge the city is liable for, Tefft said.
This case, however, was something of a misfit when it came to satisfying state law.
``The first problem we had was that we didn't hear about the situation until a month after the cats were picked up,'' said assistant city attorney, W. Eugene White.
``And before we could proceed, we had to get the status of Mr. Woodworth from his doctors . . . Finally, after a couple of months, we got a letter from them saying he had been discharged and supposedly returned to the area. Unfortunately, nobody knew how to locate him.
With the 18 remaining cats in limbo (four died of severe respiratory problems) and costs for their care multiplying rapidly, White turned to the state attorney general's office for advice. They recommended taking the case through circuit court.
Meanwhile, Woodworth was located.
The case was heard Dec. 6, and the humane society was given custody of the cats and responsibility for getting them new homes. MEMO: The Portsmouth Humane Society has available for adoption 60 dogs and 58
cats. Adoption fees are $20 for dogs and $10 for cats. Animals that have
not been spayed or neutered require an additional $35. This fee is fully
refundable when documentation is presented indicating the animal has
been spayed or neutered. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Monday through Saturday.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo by L. TODD SPENCER
Lewis S. Tefft, executive director of the Humane Society, holds one
of 22 cats and kittens seized in a raid on an apartment this
summer.
by CNB