More than 240 cats get second chance at life - Gainesville Sun
One of the largest pet-hoarding cases in the country hasn't gone through the judicial process yet, but it reached a conclusion for more than 240 cats over the weekend: a new home.
Two months after being removed from the Haven Acres Cat Sanctuary — whose owners were charged with 47 counts of animal cruelty — nearly half of the 550 cats up for adoption Friday through Sunday found new owners.
While more than 300 were left after the weekend, Jordan Crump, a spokeswoman for the Humane Society of the United States, which organized the adoption drive, called the effort the most successful large-scale cat adoption the organization has seen.
"We're thrilled by the numbers," Crump said Sunday at the Gainesville warehouse where the rescued cats — at least the ones that haven't been adopted — were being held.
On Friday, about 80 cats were adopted, followed by 105 on Saturday.
It was slower Sunday, when 60 cats were adopted, but Eric Van Ness, the director of the Alachua County Humane Society, was also happy with the overall numbers.
"Two-hundred-something in one weekend is pretty good for a one-time shot," Van Ness said.
Van Ness said there will still be opportunities for adoptions, as the Alachua County Humane Society will be taking in 20 cats.
But Crump said some will be moving to shelters around the region.
Though cats generally aren't thrilled with car travel, she said it would pay off.
"A couple of hours of a stressful situation is better than leaving them in an area that's already saturated," she said.
On June 7, 697 cats were taken from Haven Acres, and earlier this month, the owners, Steve Lefkowitz, 65, and Pennie Lefkowitz, 59, were arrested and charged with animal cruelty.
Sixty of the cats had to be euthanized, and roughly 50 others are being kept out of the adoption process to be held as evidence in the case, Crump said.
On Sunday, Stefanie Evenden and her fiance, Caleb Nason, were browsing when they were struck by a familiar name.
The couple's 12-year-old English bulldog named Jasmine, who was known to stick out her tongue, recently died, and they were looking to adopt an older cat to keep in line two kittens they had recently adopted.
In the warehouse, they stumbled upon Jasmine, an 8-year-old cat who also sticks out her tongue.
"These cats deserve a second chance," Evenden said, "even if it's for four years."
Contact Chad Smith at 338-3104 or chad.smith@gvillesun.com.
29 Aug, 2011--
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