NC woman charged with alleged animal cruelty after veterinarian turns her in for refusing care

A North Carolina woman was charged with animal cruelty after a veterinarian turned her in for refusing care for a sick cat brought into the animal clinic. More than 150 animals were removed from the property.

Huber says she was falsely accused 
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Cynthia Huber, 56, of Myrtle Grove, faces nine counts of cruelty to animals among other charges after a search warrant was obtained by the New Hanover County Sheriffs Office to remove that one cat and any other animals they felt were ‘in peril.’

Officers removed the cat and three ducks and upon seeing other animals allegedly in bad shape obtained an additional search warrant. On December 20, 150 additional ducks and several cats were removed from the property. Star News Online states 11 feral cats were among those living there. KPLC TV reported 11-14 feral cats were seized.

The New Hanover County Health Department was brought in after an enormous amount of animal waste was found in a pond.

Many of the ducks were disabled or injured and one duck was against the law to even have. Two rescue groups stepped up to take the animals. Skywatch Bird Rescue is caring for the ducks and the cats are with Friends of Felines

Amelia Mason with Skywatch Bird Rescue reported all of the birds were underweight with many of them only weighing half of what they should weigh. They will remain in their care until further notice.

Huber was released on a $3,600 unsecured bond and will appear in court on January 9. She says she was falsely accused and is seeking legal counsel against the county and the veterinarian.

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15 thoughts on “NC woman charged with alleged animal cruelty after veterinarian turns her in for refusing care”

  1. I don’t see any benefit for the vet except helping the animals for turning this woman in so why would he or she go to all the work and subject themselves to possibly testifying in court and being cross examined if he or she did not believe there was abuse? Common sense tells me the hoarder/abuser is doing exactly what the vet thinks and should never be allowed near another animal forever.

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      • Exactly my point, and reading the description of what the officers found when they went there totally justified the vet reporting her. Again, none of the people reporting her get any benefit out of it except saving animals so they are not doing it for any other reason. Hope she gets major jail time and pray she is ordered to never have another animal. She also needs a psych eval obviously for the hoarding and admit she imposed cruel and inhumane conditions on the animals but she may never see that due to her mental illness. Bravo to the vet and animal control officers. Not sure if there are some trolls or cat haters on here based on the comments.

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        • I don’t think my usual trolls are commenting on this one but I do have a few that make comments that never make it to the articles. I don’t know whether they only hate cats or hate life in general.

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  2. I wonder if anything is true. Look at the date posted. It says January 1 2018. We haven’t hit midnight yet. It’s still December 31 2017.

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    • It’s because it’s 4 or 5 hours later in the UK than in the eastern US. It always does that. I included links where I got the information plus there are several more.

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    • I don’t want or need people who don’t trust my writing. I check references before I write. It’s a damn shame some people don’t realize the world is ahead of us in some places. Happy New Year!

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  3. I’m on the fence here. It’s really hard to judge or advocate from afar. That’s a lot of animals to care for. Why did she refuse care? Was the cat terminal? Vets usually leave that in the owner’s hands.

    And I know or have read that rescue groups have lied before. I know of three cases where good shelters and one breeder were set up to be raided. But others are truly pet mills or hoarders. How does the public know what’s true?

    I wish we had a third party arbitrator that would go in with the law and rescue groups to accurately ascertain conditions.

    That’s how I feel and what I think when I read of these things.

    Anne

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    • Agree, Anne. There isn’t enough info here IMO. What was the situation with the cat for which she refused vetting? (My personal vet is always commenting how she wishes rescues would not spend thousands on terminal animals and instead would use that $ to save others.) What’s the health status of the ferals? IDK enough about ducks to offer an opinion on them but of course if they actually are 1/2 the normal weight, that is a problem. But it does bother me that the sheriff comments that she has been “on the radar” for three years. You’d think that in three years they would have had some reason to take action. I have a bad feeling about raids like this.

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      • I believe one of the media links says she saw a new vet. The way all of the reference articles talk is the vet made recommendations and the woman refused to have her cat treated. It doesn’t tell whether the expense was too high or give a reason for refusing treatment. I’m curious to see how this turns out, especially in NC where even those we know are guilty aren’t punished. I AM very worried about the ferals.

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      • I’m going to try to get in touch and get her side of the story if she’s allowed. An attorney may have told her to not make any statements.

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  4. Since she’s fighting the charges the ferals will likely be held until the courts decide. I’m very worried about them. They’ll need a safe place to go when this is over.

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    • It is unusual as far as I am aware for a veterinarian to turn in a person to the police. I guess it is rare for the opportunity to occur but it must be tricky for a vet to do this. Think of the consequences if the vet gets it wrong.

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