By Esteban Fernandez
For Times West Virginian
Fairmont — Police arrested a well-known animal rescuer on Friday.
Karen Anderson, 55, of Aaron’s Hope for Paws, faces 58 misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals. Anderson resides in Flemington. WDTV reported the Taylor County Sheriff’s Department found a sweltering shed overrun with flies and dead cats after executing a search warrant. Most of the surviving pets were taken to the Marion County Humane Society and Taylor County Humane Society.
“We are shocked,” Jonna Spatafore, director of the Marion County Humane Society, said. “We are, I mean, because, you know, Karen’s been around forever. We all worked with her. We all know her. It’s just devastating for this to happen.”
Deputies rescued 36 cats, three dogs and two birds from the residence. The cats had to survive 80-degree temperatures inside a shed with no ventilation. They had no food or water. Seven cats were rushed to Grafton City Animal Hospital. One kitten died on the way to hospital.
The Taylor County Sheriff didn’t return a request for comment.
Spatafore said they received several of the rescued cats, some of which were in poor health. The ones in worst condition went to Animal Friends of North Central West Virginia. Katie Short, shelter director, said they received seven animals, but three of them died at the emergency vet in Fairmont the night before. Four are left alive, and in poor health, she said. Short said it’s a day at a time situation.
“When they’re like this, you can’t really do a lot of normal medical stuff,” Short said. “You got to let their body recoup.”
Short said it will take time to get them back to normal. At the moment, the shelter is working to get some weight back on the cats and is looking for soft cat food that can get their attention.
Anderson told deputies that personal medical issues prevented her from clearing the shed. She was aware of the shed’s condition, but admitted she was too stubborn to ask for help. Last year, Anderson’s home burned down in March. Anderson housed rescues at her house, which along with her personal pets, perished in the fire. Anderson had been in the process of building a larger rescue facility when the fire struck.
At the time, the community rallied around Anderson. The Clarksburg Eagles hosted a benefit luncheon for the rescue the following month. Short called Anderson one of the reputable rescues working in the area.
Anderson’s arrest shocked Spatafore and Short. Spatafore said she never saw any sign Anderson was falling behind or needed assistance. She said Anderson regularly pulled cats from Harrison County Animal Control, since the shelter had limited space for cats and had to euthanize frequently as a result.
Spatafore said she can’t comprehend how Anderson found herself in this situation. A community of care for animals exists in the area for a reason.
“I guess if you’re one single person trying to take every cat that’s in a bad situation, you can get overwhelmed,” she said. “But I’m just shocked that she put her own self instead of the welfare of the cats. I don’t care how — I’m stubborn too. I’m proud too. But if I needed help, I would like to think there’s a network…there’s a rescue network. I just can’t understand it.”
Spatafore said the Marion County shelter is in need of litter. They could also use some higher calorie canned food, since a lot of the animals are skinny. Volunteers would also help. The animals need baths because of the stench from surviving in all the filth. Spatafore said smaller size blankets would also help.
Also churros, the cat treat cats are known to go crazy for.
Short said this situation isn’t unfamiliar to people who work in animal rescue, but will haunt rescue workers for a long time.
The animals are adjusting to their new circumstances.
“The policeman even said last night, when they brought them all, as we were taking them out and putting them in clean kennels with blankets and litter boxes and food and water, and they were eating and drinking and laying down,” Spatafore said. “He’s like, ‘look at them,’ you know. They know that it’s OK.”
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