Light a candle for Elsbeth, 5 month old kitten killed by South Orange.

Elsbeth was a 5 month old kitten who lived in a hoarding house in South Orange, with approximately 1 foot of animal waste wall to wall.

She was rescued by Furry Hearts and Morgan Le Fay Cat Rescue and brought outside and was breathing clean air for the first time in her little life.

I picked up the little girl and 2 boys and carried them off to Valley Veterinary Clinic where Elsbeth, Wizard and Dune were tested for FIV/ FELV and to our delight all were negative! The boys were then neutered by Dr. Johnson.Ready for adoption.

Elsbeth was an adorable grey tabby and white, only about 5 months old.

I took them home and ACO Melanie Troncone offered to pick them up and keep them safe at her home.

She was taken next day by the ACO to Country Lakes Veterinary Clinic in Mine Hill NJ. Troncone assured Furry Hearts, that Adam Loehner told her the town would board them there with Dr. Kimani Griffith where apparently Ms. T takes our animals.

I went myself with fellow rescuer “bigben” on the 16th of May, a Saturday morning to pick up Wizard. We assured the staff, we would be back for others. I even thanked the vet for helping.

……but little did I know that there was a killing field.

Only 3 days later, the staff tells us they helped Dr. Kimani Griffith load the cats into his private car, and they assumed that they were coming to us.

We found out that they were missing. At Town Hall, Health Officer John Festa told Furry Hearts that they were “euthanized”.

Why no call to ask us to pick them up?

Where were they taken to be killed? A car ride that ended in death? Why, South Orange, when we had saved 45 did you kill the only ones you had in your care.

And here is the irony. Elsbeth had a home waiting. A woman with no legs, wanted a young female kitten to love. I’m not making that up! I will call and tell her that Elsbeth is dead.

Keep Elsbeth’s memory alive by bumping this story, by sharing on facebook, by emailing, by calling and demanding an answer.

After all the hell she lived through, she finally made it out and then was killed by our town’s decree.

Here is the contact information for

Dr. Kimani Griffith Country Lakes Animal Clinic

378 US Highway 46, Mine Hill, NJ 07803 (973) 933-6517

Keep a candle burning for Elsbeth and tell South Orange we need a shelter. Our ACO Melanie Troncone just gave more South Orange kittens to Griffith.

Wow.

This is so sad We're hoping to adopt one of the hoarder house kitties soon.

Who is responsible for this mess?

The hoarder, ultimately. Did this person never have a friend or relative to intervene?

How sad...

I just posted this on Dr. Griffith's Yelp page--that will be sure to get his attention, especially as he seems to go out of his way to argue with negative reviews. Hit him where it hurt$

This is incredibly sad. How can we get the other kittens away from Griffith?

citizenjane said:
This is incredibly sad. How can we get the other kittens away from Griffith?

Ask Troncone to take them back. We need to lobby our Town Council to stop taking our animals to him and to open up the shelter. We need to get the ACO to stop leaving animals there and forgetting about them, particularly when 2 rescues are willing to take them! We only took her up on the offer as we were struggling with the amount of cats. We just needed a little time.

The odd thing is that there is a rescue called All Paws Welcome that is listed at his address. I'll post the link. They even have a FB page https://www.facebook.com/Allpawswelcome, Their mission is to save animals from being euthanized!

This makes me sick to my stomach.

Too many cooks spoil the brothDefinition of too many cooks spoil the broth in English:proverb If too many people are involved in a task, it will not be done well.

THIS IS ONE MORE REASON WHY ADAM LOEHNER AND THE OTHER CLOWNS ON THE VILLAGE PAYROLL SHOULD BE UNCEREMONIOUSLY FIRED.

Sickening...

Sleep with the angels Elsbeth.

Why is this the towns fault? Did they hoard the cats? Did they run the last shelter into the ground? People who are hoarding animals need to be stopped. They need to know that they can't assume 50 cats will be cared for by a town after they die, assuming that is what happened. It sounds harsh, but it isn't right to blame others for the mess people make.

FilmCarp said:
Why is this the towns fault? Did they hoard the cats? Did they run the last shelter into the ground? People who are hoarding animals need to be stopped. They need to know that they can't assume 50 cats will be cared for by a town after they die, assuming that is what happened. It sounds harsh, but it isn't right to blame others for the mess people make.

Furry Hearts and Morgan Le Fay Cat Rescue saved 45 cats. The town got their hands on 5 and managed to get them all killed.

Its the towns fault because of the cavalier manner of euthanizing a kitten who was ready to be adopted. The town became responsible for the kitten when the ACO got possession.

What is the relationship between ACO Troncone and Country Lakes Animal Clinic? Is it contractual? Does the town pay a fee to the vet for each euthanasia?

BG9,

Until this incident on this thread I have never heard a bad thing about our ACO. Now you are essentially accusing them of taking a kickback for delivering animals to be euthanized. You phrase it as a question to try to hide what you are saying, but there it is.

Communication and trust is what's needed.

FilmCarp, do you not understand that in many if not all hoarding situations, there is mental illness involved? And no, not every person in the world has family or friends to intervene. It's difficult to be friends with a person who has a foot of animal excrement in their home. Or did you miss that part?

It would be wonderful if every pet owner was a normal, responsible person. When they are not, as often happens, other people do intervene. In this case, with tragic and inexplicable results.

I'm horrified and utterly perplexed that this could happen without so much as a phone call made before the kitten's life was snuffed out.

I'm surprised to see such an inflammatory thread by this MOL'er. I had hoped to come on here and ask that folks not jump on the hysteria bandwagon but it seems that train has left the station.

Morganna, I applaud your efforts to be an advocate for animals. I've read your posts and appreciate the energy you put into this. What you've written here however is inaccurate, highly. I trust you are misinformed because the alternate would mean you chose to be deliberately misleading and disingenuous. I pray that isn't the case.

There are plenty of causes I feel strongly about but it seems you've let your emotions get ahead of logic. The result being posters going out of their way to publicly bash a doctor, name calling our town officials & asking for their termination and placing blame on the town's animal control officer who I know is wholey dedicated to her job.

Irresponsible.

Peggy, of course I read that, and of course I get that. So this person had no relatives, no one read the gas meter, no neighbors noticed the stink. I get that. Morganna is doing heroic work trying to save them. I get that. The question is how much should the town do? I think if it is a public health issue the most that should be expected is that the town should remove and euthanize the animals, and place a lien on the building.

Ace789nj, if you are sure Morganna is "inaccurate" in her account, I assume that means you know the facts. I'd like to know what they are, if Morganna is wrong. Like you, I'm accustomed to seeing reasonable and well-informed posts from her, so I tend to believe what she says.

FilmCarp, I think the town has to step in when it becomes a public health issue and no one else is dealing with it. I don't think the person who reads the gas meter bears any responsibility here, and neither do the neighbors. If they do notice it, what should they do? It's not their job to take the animals and clean up the house, especially if there's still someone living there. The only recourse they have is to call the town, and then what?

I'm not sure what you think a reasonable alternative is. In this case, I don't understand why the person who had the kittens did not call the person who had taken them there before euthanizing them. There was an alternative to that, in any case, but it wasn't done. Why?

So, Ace, please tell me what facts you know that are missing from or wrong about Morganna's tale? And FilmCarp, please let me know what you think a really good alternative is when things go this far wrong? I would sincerely like to know the answers to these questions.

What PeggyC said!

PeggyC said:
Ace789nj, if you are sure Morganna is "inaccurate" in her account, I assume that means you know the facts. I'd like to know what they are, if Morganna is wrong. Like you, I'm accustomed to seeing reasonable and well-informed posts from her, so I tend to believe what she says.
FilmCarp, I think the town has to step in when it becomes a public health issue and no one else is dealing with it. I don't think the person who reads the gas meter bears any responsibility here, and neither do the neighbors. If they do notice it, what should they do? It's not their job to take the animals and clean up the house, especially if there's still someone living there. The only recourse they have is to call the town, and then what?
I'm not sure what you think a reasonable alternative is. In this case, I don't understand why the person who had the kittens did not call the person who had taken them there before euthanizing them. There was an alternative to that, in any case, but it wasn't done. Why?
So, Ace, please tell me what facts you know that are missing from or wrong about Morganna's tale? And FilmCarp, please let me know what you think a really good alternative is when things go this far wrong? I would sincerely like to know the answers to these questions.

Yes Ace, I would like to know what is inaccurate?

Morganna said:

PeggyC said:
Ace789nj, if you are sure Morganna is "inaccurate" in her account, I assume that means you know the facts. I'd like to know what they are, if Morganna is wrong. Like you, I'm accustomed to seeing reasonable and well-informed posts from her, so I tend to believe what she says.
FilmCarp, I think the town has to step in when it becomes a public health issue and no one else is dealing with it. I don't think the person who reads the gas meter bears any responsibility here, and neither do the neighbors. If they do notice it, what should they do? It's not their job to take the animals and clean up the house, especially if there's still someone living there. The only recourse they have is to call the town, and then what?
I'm not sure what you think a reasonable alternative is. In this case, I don't understand why the person who had the kittens did not call the person who had taken them there before euthanizing them. There was an alternative to that, in any case, but it wasn't done. Why?
So, Ace, please tell me what facts you know that are missing from or wrong about Morganna's tale? And FilmCarp, please let me know what you think a really good alternative is when things go this far wrong? I would sincerely like to know the answers to these questions.

Yes Ace, I would like to know what is inaccurate?

The lack of response is deafening.

Well I can liven things up with some fact support. This is Elbeth's health record. It shows that she was both healthy and a kitten and from the hoarder house and was officially under the care of Furry Hearts rescue. A simple phone call to the office will support that I brought her in and I spoke in front of the vet and tech on the phone to the head of Furry Hearts (they dialed the number so they can verify who was on the other end of the call.) They heard me agree, that I would go home and wait for Melanie to pick them up and take them to her home.

I don't see anything in this fact that casts a pall on any of the actors. (real or imagined.) I see no information that hastens the deterioration of civilization as we know it.

Folks, when it comes to posters like Ace, the truth is irrelevant. All he and others like him want is a place to spew their venom and an opportunity to suck up to the hotsy totsies in Village Hall. Next time, maybe he will be treated like this poor kitten.

Wow. Now THAT takes an award for one of the most offensive and ignorant posts of all time. Well done. Stay classy.

FilmCarp said:
BG9,
Until this incident on this thread I have never heard a bad thing about our ACO. Now you are essentially accusing them of taking a kickback for delivering animals to be euthanized. You phrase it as a question to try to hide what you are saying, but there it is.

Neither did I.

I'm simply wondering why ACO is turning to that particular clinic for euthanasia. That's why asked if there is a contractual relation.

I'm sorry you brought up a kickback angle. That wasn't my intention.

You owe me and probably the ACO an apology. Me by publicly implying a sleazy motive or hidden agency on my part. The ACO for bringing up the kickback scenario.

Not everything is Machiavellian.

ps - I just read Elbeth's health record as posted by Morganna above. I do wonder why the hurry to kill off a healthy kitten.

mff said:

Morganna said:

PeggyC said:
Ace789nj, if you are sure Morganna is "inaccurate" in her account, I assume that means you know the facts. I'd like to know what they are, if Morganna is wrong. Like you, I'm accustomed to seeing reasonable and well-informed posts from her, so I tend to believe what she says.
FilmCarp, I think the town has to step in when it becomes a public health issue and no one else is dealing with it. I don't think the person who reads the gas meter bears any responsibility here, and neither do the neighbors. If they do notice it, what should they do? It's not their job to take the animals and clean up the house, especially if there's still someone living there. The only recourse they have is to call the town, and then what?
I'm not sure what you think a reasonable alternative is. In this case, I don't understand why the person who had the kittens did not call the person who had taken them there before euthanizing them. There was an alternative to that, in any case, but it wasn't done. Why?
So, Ace, please tell me what facts you know that are missing from or wrong about Morganna's tale? And FilmCarp, please let me know what you think a really good alternative is when things go this far wrong? I would sincerely like to know the answers to these questions.

Yes Ace, I would like to know what is inaccurate?

The lack of response is deafening.

What mff said.

Ace, as it appears you have no facts that contradict Morganna's story, you owe her an apology.

And if anyone here is disturbed by the wholly unnecessary deaths of Elsbeth and the other cats, please make your views known to the South Orange Trustees. If we have our own local shelter, chances are we can prevent things like this happening in the future, and Elsbeth will at least not have died completely in vain.

BG9, I did not see what you wrote as implying a kickback, merely paying someone to do a job, albeit an unpleasant one. Although in this case, you really have to ask all kinds of questions about how and why this happened.