Once again there’s turmoil in the cat advocacy world, this time coming out of North Carolina. The whole situation brings into question as to whether shelters should do background checks on the rescues who pull cats from them. I’ll be as brief as possible, but will list several links following this article so the readers can get more of an idea of the big picture.
On January 16 the Salisbury Post reported two of the rescues who pull from Rowan County were banned on December 31, 2015. County Manager Aaron Church confirmed to the Salisbury Post that Jennifer Frasier, owner of Purfect Purbaby Rescue and her father Craig Gordon, owner of Carolina Sanctuary and Rescue have been banned from Rowan County Animal Shelter in Salisbury.
The ban comes following the arrest of Frasier and Gordon when nearby Iredell County Animal Services brought charges against them for animal abandonment on December 19 stemming from a November incident where more than a dozen cats were left on the side of Short Dog Drive in Statesville. Frasier was charged and booked into the jail on $1,000 bond after being arrested by Salisbury Police Department officers. The Salisbury Post stated at least five of the cats were in Frasier’s possession before being abandoned.
Now for the battle: are Frasier and Gordon guilty? According to Frasier, she had only pulled the cats for another rescue to take possession of them and they were no longer in her care at the time they went missing. Frasier has been advised by her attorney not to speak on the matter. The court date is scheduled for February 1 and Jennifer says she has information that will clear her. One of her supporters (Cindy) says it best as follows:
“Since this trashing has started, we have not only lost Jen but many other rescuers. And why? Because of anonymous calls to the shelters and now they will not let ANYONE rescue. The good rescue world in NC has crumbled because of a few rubber necking gossiping trashing nosy people in Florida and California that get their rocks off on gossip. Not one of these people have ever made an effort to visit the adoption center. So now the cats wait for the dreaded day that they get the needle. Many already have and more will die tomorrow.”
Frasier herself stated in a blog comment
“First of all why would I believe it and care for leg amputation, eye removals, full vaccinations and spay/neuter if my intention was not to make sure that that animal got to a home or place where it can be properly cared for…why would I waste my time which usually added to about 16 hours a day back and forth to Concord and all over the state and others transporting cats, if I did not care about their well being???”
On the other hand, there are a lot of cat advocates who have been asking legitimate questions of where the cats she rescued ended up. A head count of all cats pulled over the past year are so have been requested and not provided. Advocates want to know where each cat ended up, what rescue a cat was passed off to and if a cat has died there should be vet receipts with information on what happened to the cat.
Unfortunately, Frasier recently reported a break-in at the adoption center in Salisbury, where none of the cats were harmed but records were stolen and the building vandalized (see photo above). Photos of the damage, as well as successful adoption stories, can be found on this Facebook page.
The issue of whether background checks needs addressing regarding rescues, since it’s been learned Frasier and Gordon both have criminal records. Manager Church, however, stated the criminal charges are only part of the reason for the ban. Church went on to add the shelter doesn’t conduct background checks on people adopting animals, but believes it may be a necessary policy change for rescues who pull from the shelter.
All we know to date is Salisbury PD Detective Benfield is assigned to the Breaking and Entering case. We also know Dr Norris, who is head of the NC Department of Agriculture Animal Welfare is heading up a related investigation. Iredell County Animal Control is also involved since the original complaints came out of their shelter.
This case should make for an interesting discussion. Those who support Frasier wonder how cat advocates can have her charged and convicted before she’s made even the first plea in court. Others worry about a fate worse than death to the cats she saved from death row. Regardless of how this case ends, it will be yet another blemish on cat rescues, who can’t fight lies and rumors yet don’t provide simple information on the cats they save.
Please feel free to comment on any of this. Just don’t spread rumors that can’t be proven at this time. We have to leave that for the courts to decide. It’s sad, but the Team Frasier supporters are right in assessing more cats will likely die without Frasier there to save them.
Please comment on Facebook as well as it helps spread the word – thanks.
Jo’s much more entertaining than I am. I just throw out the facts and she more tells a story 🙂
Sorry Elisa, that’s just careless of me.
Michael can you change the article to my name? You put Jo’s on it by mistake 🙂
VERY good points. I do know of shelters running background checks on employees but not suree about volunteers.
I am not very familiar with this case, so I’ll not comment on it, but I want to comment on background checks. I think background checks on rescues make sense, since rescues are like non-profits, so presumably they are registered, and have some history you can check. But I think if you start doing personal checks on people you’ll lose a lot of potential adopters who have nothing to hide, but who are like me would be very reluctant to give a shelter their private information like their social security number (in the US) or date of birth without very good information about the security of the data and the ability to get compensation in case of identity theft. First name and last name aren’t enough as there usually more than one person there. You may be able to get some information from name-address combination, but since people addresses change, the only way for a real background check would require social security number (in the US). Are shelters ready to spend money on security for their computer systems to safe guard private information of potential adopters? Do they have money to pay the liability if they are accused of negligence when/if the data gets stolen? A potential class action like what businesses face? Do shelters do the background checks on all volunteers to make sure they aren’t going to steal someone’s private information and resell it? Can they track all volunteers who has ever worked there?
You may say that people give this information to landlords, but when you do it, you know the person’s name and address or at least the address of the property. You are also only giving it to one person, and the landlord doesn’t have to manage a large number of this type of data. A shelter will have to. Once a shelter gets access to social security numbers of multiple people, the shelter will have to be legally responsible for safeguarding this data.
The rescue Jen Frasier pulled for was none other than her fathers Craig Gordon Carolina Sanctuary and Rescue , The last thing posted on Carolina Sanctuary and Rescue facebook pg was a attempt at damage control, and taking responsibility. Overnight the Carolina Sanctuary and Rescue facebook pg vanished, wiped out. Craig Gorden was arrested and charged with animal abandonment , he is not affiliated with Jen Frasiers Purfect Purbaby Rescue , yet he was charged and booked, go figure.
As far as the great break in ask yourself one question, why would anyone steal a record book, what gain would a thief have by stealing a used record book. Now ask yourself this question what will Jen Frasier gain by having the record book “stolen”? She is hoping the IRS and other State and Federal Officials will buy her story of the “break in” and theft , although no damage was done other than a little paint damage which can be fixed with minimal effort and at no cost if they saved leftover paint. And a little door damage which appears to have existing rot which should have been repaired regardless of any “break in”. Real vandals bust holes in walls, break windows, destroy toilets , things that are costly to repair , and they steal more than a “record” book. How convenient, what perfect timing.
A average legit shelter places between two and three hundred cats per year, Jen Frasier pulled around 2000 from Rowen alone , and that is not including the other shelters she has collected pledge money paid in good faith for vetting and care for helpless sick kitties, Pledges range from average of 130 up to over 300 dollars per cat, do the math, and she has been living pretty well not to have a real job although every cent of pledge money is required by law to be used for the particular cat, Why did she continue to pull when she was begging for food , litter, and cash to support the ones she already was supposed to have in her possession.
If you pledge on a cat you owe it to the cat to request vet receipts and updates be posted until the cat is permanently adopted or euth.
If you send supplies , food, litter, ect . to a rescue ,request the bar code be blacked out with permanent marker before shipping or pick up. Rescue has turned into a lucrative business for many , way to many.
PENALTIES,
Penalties apply to responsible persons of a tax-exempt organization who fail to provide the documents as
required. A penalty of $20 per day may apply for as long as the failure continues. A $10,000 maximum penalty
applies to a failure to provide an information return; no maximum penalty applies to application requests.
Transparency,
Public charities are encouraged to adopt and monitor procedures to ensure that
information about their mission, activities, finance and governance is made publicly
available. Go to http://www.irs.gov/eo for more information about governance.
Governing Body,
An active and engaged board is important to the success of a public charity and
compliance with the tax law. A governing board should be composed of persons
who are informed and active in overseeing a charity’s operations and finances. To
guard against insider transactions that could result in misuse of charitable assets,
the governing board should include independent members and should not be
dominated by employees or others who are not independent because of business
or family relationships.
but all is not lost, there is still hope for Purfect Purbaby Rescue to produce new record books, how? the receipts and bank statements, and dont forget paypal account,
Public charities must keep records for federal tax purposes for as long as they
may be needed to document evidence of compliance with provisions of the Code.
Generally, this means the organization must keep records that support an item
of income or deduction on a return until the statute of limitations for that return
runs. The statute of limitations has run when the organization can no longer amend
its return and the IRS can no longer assess additional tax. Generally, the statute
of limitations runs three years after the date the return is due or filed, whichever
is later. An organization may be required to retain records longer for other legal
purposes, including state or local tax purposes.