Why? It started with a horse named Ginger, who was saved by "Our Animal Haus" from starving to death by the previous owner. She was brought to us by 2 of our employees, one of whom lived next door to where Ginger and another horse named Sly, had been kept.
My employee, Sherrie Nixon, had this to say on my Facebook post concerning this incident:
"When they arrived at Carol's place, we all were in tears. These horses was nothing but BONES!! The mare had huge eyes that said to us her hope was gone, her love was gone, her trust in humans was gone. We didn't think she would make it out of the horse trailer without dropping dead, she was in bad shape. The gelding had age on his side but his eyes said the same as the mare. Well, in time Carol and Teddy had given hope, love, and faith in humans again. With great food, these horses had overcome death. They are very healthy, happy and enjoying eating. The mare would follow Teddy around like a puppy dog, out of love. She trusted him to no end. That's Carol and Teddy; saving all kinds of animals and giving so much love to them, when death is knocking at the animal's door."
Ginger was 30 years old, which is comparable to a person in their 80's. She was one of our success stories, and she quickly grew strong enough to graze freely on our 12 acre parcel, socializing with the other horses. Despite being cared for and fed twice everyday for 2 years by my husband and a long time employee, she never did gain weight much in the way some elderly people are unable to gain weight because of such a low percentage of body fat. According to other owners of elderly mares whom I have spoken with, this is not at all uncommon. In fact, the owner of our local feed store once said that her elderly mare could eat buckets of food all day and never gain weight.
Yet, Animal Control took her based upon perceived neglect because of her weight, disregarding completely her care, which had been well-documented. Her records clearly stated her birth date as being 8/30/79 (see scan of Vet record below). This information should have been easy enough for AC to obtain - had they wanted to. In fact, I had also presented this same Vet record in court to Judge Hitzemann at the hearing on the 23rd of October. It was ignored.
While Ginger was in custody, the veterinarian for Animal Control mistakenly identified Ginger as being an 18 year old horse. Based on the wrong age, the veterinarian determined Ginger had suffered from malnutrition. Ginger was then euthanized (or murdered if you like) as a result of this incorrect diagnosis. To compound this, Animal Control had taken pictures of unused food and water bins to complete the illusion of a horse having been starved, although the barn was filled with food, and there were automatic water buckets in plain view. A calendar kept by my employee hung on the wall detailing the care of the horses. These were conveniently not photographed.
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| The food as photographed on 10/17, the day after they sent my backer deliberately misleading pictures of an empty trough we were no longer using. My employee always fed the horses individually, because they would steal each others food. |
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| The calendar on the wall above the food, which shows the care of the horses, documented M-F by our employee. |
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| The calendar as it looks today, photographed on my bed. |
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| The automatic watering system they neglected to photograph. Instead they sent my backer photos of an empty bucket we no longer used. We are sure they used the deliberately false and misleading photos to manufacture the phony case against us, and to justify the seizure of Ginger. |
Our sweet mare was used as the king pin in what would become an outright assault on "Our Animal Haus", that would lead to the removal of nearly all of our animals, and we know that because of their age, many were destroyed just like Ginger. They all made it through life's difficulties and managed to live long lives, only to be betrayed, undervalued, and discarded in the end.
I would love to hear from people who have had similar experiences with Animal Control. Apparently, as I am finding out, they are not that uncommon. I hope that by spreading the word and taking action, I can help stop these people from being able to use their power in a such fierce and abusive manner. It is the only way in which I can make sense of Ginger's untimely death, and honor her most precious memory.
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| Ginger...born 8/30/1979, murdered 10/19/2009. This photo was taken by Officer Tossona during one of his invasive and illegal searches, anytime between 9/16/2009 and 10/16/2009. It appeared in one of Logan Neill's articles after the animals had been seized. This is a fair depiction of how she looked, despite the fact that AC knows exactly how to make animals look bad in photos. I have seen it with my own eyes.* |
Ginger looked the same every time our Vet came to see her. She was on a special senior feed, and also receiving beet pulp and hay, in addition to feed, twice a day. She grazed freely on the plentiful green grass on our property. Her coat was shiny. All of these things, along with a calendar filled with notations on her care, were clearly visible to anyone entering the barn. My employee, who was paid $12 an hour, also worked for my Vet and was a horse expert.
It is criminal that Ginger had to die by the hands of people who did not care about her, away from the people she loved and who loved her. AC stated to me that she could not stand, so they put her to sleep. That is hard for me to believe, unless all that fighting and kicking she did as they took her away drew the last bits of life out of her. Perhaps she knew instinctively as animals seem to know of the approaching storm, what was to be her fate, and simply gave up. It must have been terrifying for her.
All of you at AC...and indeed all of you, all the way to the top...will one day pay for this. If you are human, surely the horror of these unnecessary deaths, the intense fear that was felt by the many animals you killed, is etched somewhere on your soul for God to see. He will be the one who ultimately deals with you.
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| Record from Ginger's Vet clearly showing her birth date |
This is sadly what was printed below the photo. Are you getting the complete picture yet?
"Two local residents who operate what their web site calls "a non-profit sanctuary for unwanted, elderly, and special needs animals and birds" face a court hearing Friday to determine their fitness to keep almost 200 animals. County animal officers executed a search warrant Wednesday at Our Animal Haus on Lanark Road east of Brooksville and reportedly found a horse in immediate need of vet care as well as bags of dead birds and cats in a freezer. A chestnut mare found in bad shape last week was euthanized per vet recommendation and court order. The petition to determine fitness includes an original Animal Services report that "multiple animals were found to be neglected or cruelly treated" in the initial inspection of the property. The two facing the court charges are identified in documents as Carolyn Mas and Esteban Augustinho. Their web site seeks donations for the care of the animals, but officials said they found almost no food available for the horses, dogs, cats and birds at the property. An earlier version of this story included an incorrect hearing date because an amended Order Setting Hearing was not contained in the court file reviewed by Hernando News Source."
It is nearly impossible to read this. They are pretty much calling me a fraud here. There was always food for my animals. This is a lie spread by AC and reinforced by the media, without ever being verified by any independent source, meant to assassinate my character so that I would have no credibility with anyone...either to gain support, or to defend myself. The slander coupled with deliberately staged photos like this one, and those of empty water and food troughs, when if you were to go straight back to the barn from this angle, you would see automatic water feeders and trash cans filled with feed and beet pulp, as well as bales of hay...this is COMPLETELY CRIMINAL AND DESIGNED TO FRAME ME AND DELIBERATELY SET OFF A SERIES OF EVENTS FROM WHICH THEY WOULD ULTIMATELY PROFIT, AND A LOT OF ANIMALS WOULD BE NEEDLESSLY SLAUGHTERED.
The man who started this, John Tossona, who is no longer with AC and who lives in South Florida, came on my property and deliberately with malicious intent, set off this series of events from which there could be no recovery. He acted lawlessly without any authority, and for the fraud he committed as a Notary alone could be put in jail. The motive, the pure evil behind why someone would do such a thing is unfathomable. It is contemptible.
