Cat rescue group tries to regain trust

Emaciated cats. Fly-ridden enclosures. Wounds infested with maggots. Those were some of the lasting images from a failed cat sanctuary that was seized in July by authorities in Pahrump.

Now the organization responsible for that sanctuary is trying to restore its name as a nonprofit dedicated to finding homes for unwanted cats.

But how can For the Love of Cats and Kittens rebound after enduring the worst publicity imaginable?

With some humility and a return to its core mission, FLOCK officials said.

"Placing blame is very easy; accepting blame is not. We have done both," said FLOCK board member and volunteer Pat Snell.

"It's been really rough," said Maggie Ward, who became FLOCK president about two months before Nye County took control of the sanctuary 60 miles west of Las Vegas.

Ward inherited her post after the previous president was forced out or resigned, depending on which story you believe.

"We're trying to build up, trying to get people's trust again," she said.

That won't be easy.

Some FLOCK board members and volunteers could face animal cruelty charges in Nye County in connection with conditions at the sanctuary.

The facility consisted of a cluster of open cat rooms inside a 12-foot fence topped with barbed wire. Authorities said more than 700 cats had been turned loose within the 21/2-acre compound, where they were left to survive the summer heat without sufficient food, water or medical treatment.

Nye County turned the cats over to Utah-based Best Friends Animal Society, which spent six months and more than $600,000 finding new homes for the animals.

More than 60 of the cats died on their own or had to be euthanized. Under Best Friends' direction, the rest were sterilized, vaccinated and treated for worms and other ailments. They also were photographed, logged in a database and affixed with microchips for identification.

Some have called it the largest cat rescue ever. For FLOCK, it looked like certain death.

Instead, the nonprofit group has lived on by lying low.

After launching a new Web site with a letter explaining their version of events in Pahrump, members focused all of their efforts in Las Vegas, where they plan to keep having adoption events and providing food and medical care to feral cats and strays.

"We have no sanctuary, nor will we ever have a sanctuary," Snell said.

"We're just moving ahead as if there is a FLOCK or there will be a FLOCK," added Ward, who is the only member of the group who draws a salary for her work.

Last month, national retailer PetSmart cleared FLOCK to begin adopting out cats again at one of the chain's locations in Las Vegas.

The group was initially barred from adoption events at PetSmart in the wake of the rescue in Pahrump.

"After the news broke and everything was very damning, that privilege was taken away from us," Snell explained. "This was a horrible, horrible time for us."

It also hurt the flow of cash.

"We strictly run on donations," Snell explained, and after all the bad press "donations dropped horribly."

Ward said two donors even asked for their money back so they were given checks.

Then, even as the mess in Pahrump was being cleaned up, FLOCK returned to fundraising and soliciting donations through its newsletter.

As a result, the organization has recovered somewhat.

"We've built back up. We are being supported very nicely," Snell said.

And not a moment too soon. The group spends about $3,000 a month on veterinary care and another $3,000 a month on food for stray and feral cats.

To some, though, all of this begs a larger question: Does an organization that failed so spectacularly in Pahrump deserve to go on at all?

Nye County Animal Control Supervisor Tim McCarty has a strong opinion about that, but he said he can't give it because of the possible criminal case.

Generally speaking, though, he said it makes more sense to donate to groups dedicated to sterilizing cats and dogs than it does to those whose sole focus is on rescuing unwanted animals.

"You and I can start rescuing animals right now, and with your last breath we still won't have made much of a dent. Spay and neuter organizations nip the problem in the bud," he said.

As for what he witnessed when Nye County took control of the sanctuary, McCarty said this: "These folks have a problem, and there is no doubt that it's caused pain to both animals and people."

Some of the cats found in Pahrump were pets that had been caught in traps in Las Vegas. A few were returned to their owners with the help of microchip identifications embedded under their skin, something McCarty said most shelters routinely check for but FLOCK missed.

Ultimately, Ward and Snell blame FLOCK's troubles on the actions of a few people who are no longer affiliated with the group. The people they identify as the culprits, including former president Sharon Lee Allen, claim that conditions at the sanctuary declined after they left.

Nye County prosecutors might be left to sort out the mess. District Attorney Bob Beckett has the case under review to determine who, if anyone, will face animal cruelty charges.

Despite it all, Snell expects FLOCK to survive.

"We have a good base. We have good people supporting us," she said. "Hopefully, we're through treading water. Now we're floating."

Ward agreed.

"All we can do is start fresh. There's thousands of cats out there that need care," she said. "We'll always be involved in working with cats, no matter what anyone does to us."

Contact reporter Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0350.