Sophie- Still missing
On Monday, October 20th, 2014 Tina and Craig Swartzendruber’s world changed forever when they realized the unimaginable happened. Their cherished one year old black and white beloved cat, Sophie, was nowhere to be found.
Sophie was one of many feral cats living on the Swartzendruber’s property in Temple, PA. Believing in the philosophy of TNR (trap, neuter, return), they have been able to spay and neuter most of the cats. Sophie was only a kitten when they caught her and had her spayed in 2013. Sophie had the sweetest disposition which led her to become Tina and Craig’s cherished house cat.
On that Monday, the 20th, Sophie was left outside at 6 AM. When Tina called for her to come inside, Sophie was nowhere in sight. A search ensued immediately.
Phone calls were made promptly to the local shelters – Animal Rescue League of Berks County and the Humane Society of Berks County – by Tina when each opened their doors to the public to report Sophie’s disappearance. A full description of the treasured cat was specified during the calls. The Humane Society resulted with no cats fitting Sophie’s description.
When calling the Rescue League that morning, Tina spoke to its former Executive Director, Judd Minehart. According to Tina’s email to me, Minehart told her they did not have Sophie but they did euthanize a male cat fitting the description of Sophie- white body, black spots on the back/ ears and a full black tail.
That same day, a very upset Tina and her husband, Craig drove to the ARL to show a photo of Sophie. She spoke to a staff member and to Mr. Minehart. She made a simple request: to view the deceased cat that fit the description of Sophie. She wanted to see for herself if this could possibly be her cat. The staff employee and Minehart denied the simple request.
Why would the ARL refuse the Swartzendruber’s this simple request?
Why wouldn’t this shelter allow Tina to see if the cat they euthanized earlier that day was indeed her beloved Sophie? Mistakes are made in shelters. Pets are mistakenly euthanized by shelters across the nation. It’s sad, wrong and a tragedy, but a fact.
Perhaps, the cat was sexed wrong. What would be so inherently wrong with allowing a distraught pet parent to see a deceased cat?
Tina got nowhere with Minehart. Extremely unsettled by the handling of her request, she called the League the very next day. Ironically, Minehart no longer worked there and was put in touch with the acting director, Harry Brown III, who was filling in for the newly-departed Minehart. Brown was the Executive Director for the ARL for 30 yrs before retiring from that position. (Brown now works in the capacity as a Humane Officer for the ARL.)
Harry had no direct knowledge of the cat in question except to read the paperwork about the deceased feline to Tina. He tried to reassure her the cat was not Sophie according to the paperwork. However, Tina and Craig weren’t convinced. She conveyed her anger on the League’s policies regarding her case but sadly it fell on deaf ears, according to Tina.
Upon asking Harry why she couldn’t have seen the body, he told Tina he didn’t know the reason since he wasn’t the person in charge when it happened. He could only go by what was written by other employees.
Having volunteered and worked at the Animal Rescue League for eight years, I know the policies that were previously set in place would have allowed Tina and Craig to view the deceased cat’s body. I know Harry would not only have permitted it but would’ve encouraged it to help anyone find peace and closure when it came to someone’s precious family pet.
But, the shelter had a new director and apparently new policies.
So the only question that remains is Why wasn’t Tina allowed to view the dead cat’s body to positively ID a cat that may possibly be hers?
I spoke with other shelters on the basis of anonymity about their policies regarding this case. Not one would’ve denied the Swartzendruber’s from viewing the body. Some were shocked to learn a shelter would have such a policy.
The following can be found on the ARL’s website:
“Shelters nationwide are struggling with the realization that there are not nearly enough homes or space in shelters to house and care for all of these animals, and they are forced to perform humane euthanasia as a last resort.”
Did the League use euthanasia as a last resort for this cat?
In the state of Pennsylvania, open-admission shelters (kill) must keep dogs for 48 hrs before euthanizing them. There is no set time for cats.
While the ARL was searching for a new Executive Director after Minehart’s sudden departure, I wrote to the acting Board President at the time- Rick Hoffman- asking him about this case and their policies.
I never received a response from Mr. Hoffman. I outlined the above information for him.
It appears the ARL is not interested in wanting to help a distraught couple looking for their cat and possibly having closure.
Sophie has never been found. Is she still out there? Does someone have her? Was she the cat the Animal Rescue League of Berks County didn’t want Tina to see?
What were the Animal Rescue League of Berks County’s motives for not allowing the viewing of a deceased cat?
If this was Sophie, were they in fear of a possible lawsuit? That’s the only conclusion of which I am able to arrive.
This wasn’t the first time the ARL had an issue with euthanizing a cat too quickly. You can read that story here.
If you have a story or topic you would like me to write, please email me at tevangelistaepp@yahoo. Like my tv page at https://www.facebook.com/ACloseUpLookAtAnimalWelfareIssues.
:'(
What the hell is wrong with them?
I’m very sorry for your loss.
I find this very disturbing. this was so wrong.
Who holds animal shelters accountable? They ignore this couple and tell them to basically go away. I thought shelters were to be caring about animals. If this my cat, I’d certainly want to know if the cat was mine. I pray the policy is no longer. I’m sorry to the Swartzendrubers.
Sounds suspicious to me. They seem to be hiding something.
The ARL has a new director now. Maybe she can be of help with this woman’s cat. I heard the previous director wasn’t good at all.
Sounds shady to me or maybe they’re that stupid.