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With a letter to the editors dated May 29, 2021.
Editor: I watched with disgust the lynch mob, which is the standing community safety committee made up of councilors Hyggen, Mauro, Parker, Campbell and a guest appearance by Carlson. I watched their meet this week when they completely impaled one of our beloved animal rescues, The Last Chance Cat Ranch.
A property owner brought personal issues littered with false information to remove or shut down the rescue. His claim of over 100 cats living in the house is completely wrong (they have about a third of them between the main house and the retrofitted garage). The law enforcement officer strongly denied his allegations of deplorable and uninhabitable conditions, and also stated that animal welfare had been put through and that all cats were being cared for, in direct contradiction to claims made by the neighbor. The neighbor called the rescue a spectacle, the founder “mental” and the LCCR Facebook site, where they collect donations, raise awareness, present adoptions, bake sales, etc. “nothing more than a shame story”.
But these councilors leaned back to appease him, worrying about statutes, health violations, zoning, etc. They agreed on additional summer sessions and loopholes to present at the next city council meeting. Nobody felt the need to involve The Cat Ranch in any of these deliberations or to verify the owner’s false information.
Now think about it – Last Chance Cat Ranch has been in this location for years – long before the neighbor moved in in 2016. The only thing that seems to have changed since then is that they added an enclosed outdoor “catio” area in their back yard.
The Last Chance Cat Ranch was a godsend for this community. All they have done is improve our city by removing unwanted cats from the streets, from owners who have abandoned them, and pets from the elderly who have died.
They receive veterinary care, food, and shelter and are then placed in foster families or given up for adoption. The unpaid volunteers work tirelessly to make all of this possible and have a legion of supporters behind them.
The founder, Elizabeth Ginn, dedicated her life and savings to what is decent and noble for this community. Since then, she has pulled back from her incredibly stressful role to fight her own battles with terminal cancer.
She should have received awards and accolades from this community for her commitment and instead you have this pack of hyenas – I mean council members – who are rushing for the chance to end their life’s work. You should be utterly ashamed, and I am utterly embarrassed about my city, and especially those involved in this totally biased debacle.
Virginia Kuz
Lethbridge
