The story of the family whose ten “unschooled” children were seized by Kentucky Child Protective Services (CPS) has cats. This is the most heated, divided situation I’ve kept up with in a long time. I have a ton of information and links here, which you may wish to read a bit of before or after this article.
Their Facebook: Blessed Little Homestead page tells of the battle that Joe and Nicole Naugler are going through since the children were seized last week from their Breckinridge home.
Viewpoint of the family:
- The reason the children were taken was because they live “off the grid,” meaning no electricity, running water or adequate septic system, and the children were being “unschooled” or homeschooled
- Nicole claims the Sheriff bruised her during arrest when her two eldest children were seized. Nicole is 5 months pregnant with her 11th child.
- The family states CPS has visited their property and could find nothing wrong with the way the children are being raised
- Abuse accusations toward Joe are false
- Nicole states a warrant wasn’t produced until after her arrest (CPS can issue an emergency order, and apparently that’s what they did in this case)
Viewpoint of Child Protective Services:
- The family was residing in a tent-like structure
- The mother gave birth in that tent
- No running water or septic
- The children were not enrolled in school or vaccinated against disease (which isn’t illegal, provided the children ARE being home schooled)
- The father threatened a neighbor with a gun
Viewpoint of the public who are taking sides:
- Why is it the business of the public as to how these children are raised
- The family is acting on public sympathy to get money (a GoFundMe has raised THOUSANDS in only a few days)
- When viewing the Facebook posts going back several years, the children have been injured or sick and outside medical care wasn’t sought because they’re into natural medicine. Nicole did state if something serious comes up the children would be taken to a doctor. This didn’t happen when there was a case of food poisoning awhile back.
- The public has noticed in the photos that the children are dirty and the property is filthy. Even a pond on their property has likely been contaminated by feces running into it.
- Most people into the off-the-grid lifestyle try to improve their property. It’s being said the Naugler family has not.
Which brings us to their cats
On their Facebook page, the family speaks of having at least two cats. They also have several dogs, goats and other assorted animals. It’s also alleged the ground is nothing but a mixture of mud and feces, littered with broken glass. The family is said to eat off of dirty plates and containers. There’s no mention as to how the cats and dogs are fed. Dogs are most likely fed scraps, as dogs have lived on scraps since man and dog formed a partnership.
But what about their cats? Do they get any kind of balanced diet? Are they up to date on their rabies vaccine, since the cats are more than likely exposed to wild animals who could be infected? If the cats become ill, are they taken to a licensed veterinarian for treatment? For checkups? Or are the cats totally or near totally dependent on their own existence, and does that existence include being chased by young children?
In conclusion
It may seen strange worrying about the cats, especially when there are now 10, and soon to be 11 children involved. The Naugler family went to court on Monday, and the children are in at least four different foster homes in four different counties. The family says their property passed inspection. If this is true, it would seem the children would be allowed back home.
I’ve looked around the internet at the number of “shares” this story has on social media. It’s really not that many, considering the severity of the accusations being tossed around on both sides. My Examiner article only received 25 “likes.” Even major news media didn’t see many shares or likes.
A lot of people believe a story involving any kind of animal neglect or cruelty, or even an animal being in the story will take priority over a person. I believe it. I’ll be keeping an eye on this article, because I believe it will draw in more readers and be shared more because cats and dogs are involved. Have we really become a society that thinks more of cats and dogs than of people?
You comments on this are welcome. And be sure to comment which side you’re on concerning the Naughton family versus Child Protective Services.
I came across this website, not because of the animals but because I did a search for the Nasty Homestead website that is bashing the family like crazy.. I’ve seen their Facebook page (and accidently found out who started it…lol) and was checking out their website to see what incorrect information they were spreading elsewhere. Anyway, the kids look well fed and happy, as do the animals that they have. From what I’ve heard from the people that helped clean up the property is that they live on a decent piece of property. The felt that the home with the tarps over the outer walls (people think it has no walls because of the tarps) have said its adequate for now… people forget that its a temporary home until they can build a bigger home which takes time. There was a lot of garbage from the previous owners that had to be removed… I know what that’s like, our property has a mound of garbage from the idiot that lived here before us and it will be along time before we will get it all removed. The children have plenty of area to play in without coming into a contact with the garbage.
The kids look like normal country kids enjoying themselves outside… and getting dirty.
People should learn to keep their mouths shut if they don’t have anything nice to say and if they don’t have the real information… just remember Karma does come back to bite people that hurt or hate others. People are spreading all kinds of misinformation.
I like what you have to say. Thanks for saying it here.
How about peoples’ noses get out of other peoples’ business? Who do we think we are to judge?
I’m not reading where the children are starving; and, I see a very robust cat.
No person, not even an earthly judge and jury have the right to condemn. Not their jobs.
Why don’t people have enough to do that they are intruding in other peoples’ lives? Believe me, if time could be gifted, I would ask all of these “too much time on my hands or bored people” to donate their time to me. Better yet, get some more cats to occupy your time and stop criticizing.
Interesting topic and comments. By the way, it’s my understanding from other articles I’ve read about this case that the family makes their living running a dog grooming business. The cat looks well care for, in my opinion. Although it is a lifestyle that many might find hard to accept, as long as the kids are healthy and not in danger, I don’t feel we should judge it by the standards we might set for ourselves. I am more concerned about the harm being done by removing the children and separating them into several different foster homes while this is being sorted out. I believe one child is still an infant and is missing out on a critical bonding time with its mother/family.
Thanks for commenting Marsha.
I just took a look at their sites, and see that they’re Mormons, and follow the dictate to “Be Fruitful and Multiply, etc.” which means keep having as many children as you can. Yep, they’re programed and controlled, but by another system, not unlike the government that they resist. Funny….no…., strange!
They have cameras, and an IPhone 4, and at least one computer, so you know where some of the money is going.
The pictures of the kids look like any other American well fed kid, not scrawny and sickly, in spite of how the “homestead” may look. Their clothes look good.
It seems like they’ve been asking for donations for a long time, from their sites, so they’ve stepped it up a notch on “Go Fund Me”.
It will be interesting to follow this story, but I don’t have the time or interest. Hope someone will keep us updated.
I’ll be keeping an eye on it. If I do a new one it will likely be on my Parenting and Family topic on Examiner and I’ll post the link here as well. I have so many irons in the fire between the shelter articles and the rescue fundraisers and everything else I actually have to make a list now of things to do.
I’m not as concerned about the cats and dogs as I am about the children. I haven’t looked up any of the information provided, but there seems to be an ignorance involved when people who can’t afford to feed the children they have, keep having more. Does being off the grid mean no access to birth control? Or is it against their religion? I can’t imagine that they’re religious, since that’s another system of control, just like the government.
I understand why people would want to live off the grid, but it’s not as easy as we think.
It really seems that some brain cells are missing in these people. Kids are very resilient, but living in conditions like those described can become deadly.
What kind of scraps are available for the dogs and cats, when there’s hardly enough for the kids? Maybe it comes from hunting?
Sometimes it’s really not in the best interests of kids to be with their natural parents. I know it wasn’t in my best interests, and I wouldn’t have survived if I hadn’t left home at 12.
I’m not taking sides. It doesn’t matter what we think.
If people want to help the family, then donations are the best way to do it. Whether it’s because of the animals or the children, it doesn’t matter.
There’s really no way to tell if people in general care more about animals than people, and if they do, then what? I care about both, but in reality my caring doesn’t change a thing, unless I put it into action.
My activism is directed at intelligent people who don’t know the “difficult truths” about veterinarians, pet food, and drugs given to pets, and how they affect their health in drastic ways.
We each have to pick our battles, and I’ve chosen mine.
Elisa Black-Taylor has chosen hers, and she has my respect, as do many other contributors to this site.
The reason why the authorities want children to be “schooled” is so that they will be brainwashed with the Liberal Marxist ideology. So much has the educational system been perverted. I’s mind control that matters to them, not their well-being. . If they want them all to live under better conditions then they should help them by providing better housing and jobs, not persecute or arrest them. How does that help them?
Harvey, you are 100% SPOT ON! Today’s “education” IS mind control!! (The song that goes “hey! Teachers, leave those kids alone!” Immediately popped in my head when I read your comment. Lol. An the govt is an example of that. They build million $$$ prisions while barely any $ goes to schools. Then the govt has to fill those prisions… See my point? Vicious circle/cycle.
They won’t take anything from the government. Mrs. Naugler is on record saying that they won’t be “whores of the State” in that way. It wouldn’t be so bad if they would just do something. They aren’t even unschooling the kids. What they call unschooling is living mostly in the woods, sleeping in dirt, and foraging for food. Unschooling is a twee name for designing a personalized curriculum based on the individual child’s interests. Even if they’re all interested in farming, I note that, as Mrs. Naugler herself posted, they watched two of their dogs kill most of the chickens that one child had been “passionately” interested in getting and just kind of shrugged. The dogs are still there.