Residence Of Inspirational Animal Author Raided

[seriousstan]

FORWARD TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Humane officers raided a home in Forward Township Thursday.

Officers say they responded after neighbors complained of the stench coming from the residence on Mentor Road.

---cutting the cutsy stuff----

Officers found 74 animals -- ranging from dogs, cats, ferrets to birds -- living in deplorable conditions.

---cut---

One of the people who lived in the residence was Jim Willis, author of inspirational animal books, such as "Pieces of My Heart -- Writings Inspired By Animals and Nature," "The Animals' Savior," and "The Basset Chronicles."

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/4868789/detail.html

I looked at all the caged animals in the shelter...the cast-offs of human society.
I saw in their eyes love and hope, fear and dread, sadness and betrayal.
And I was angry.
"God," I said, "this is terrible! Why don't you do something?"
God was silent for a moment and then He spoke softly.
"I have done something," He replied.
"I created You."
Copyright Jim Willis 1999 - 2004

Thanks for nothing Jim

[H5N1]

1. another hypocrite invoking the name of god

pitiful

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

2. Hmmm, is he a GOPer? Hypocrisy is their

style.

[seriousstan]

3. I doubt it, here is his interview with the animal liberation front (ALF)..

http://www.animalliberationfront.com/Saints/Authors/Poetry/Jim%20Willis%20Interview.htm

Jim Willis is the author of the recently published Pieces of My Heart — Writings Inspired by Animals and Nature, a highly praised collection of works both old and new among which are The Animals' Savior, How Could You? and The Basset Chronicles.

Jim, who in 1990 began an animal rescue, placement, education and advocacy effort in Germany that eventually became the Tiergarten Sanctuary Trust, also is a member of The African Conservation Foundation and an accredited member of the American Sanctuary Association.

[flvegan]

6. WTF? It wasn't his "interview with the... ALF."

The interview was done with Hedy Litke, of the Animal News Center. She was also head of animal placement at the ASPCA. Hardly the ALF.

[seriousstan]

8. My bad. I noticed it was on ALF's homepage and didn't notice she wasn't

their reporter. Here is what I know about ANC....

ANC is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to promoting animal welfare by maintaining a web site that features:

current information about pets, wildlife and all other animals
interviews with individuals who have made a significant contribution toward promoting animal welfare
editorials about animal-related issues
ANC works with other news and animal-related organizations to gather information for its web site, and makes much of the material it publishes on the site available for reproduction.

Their link doesn't work....
http://www.anc.org/

It is a 501c that apperars to have been started by Hedy Litke

[jilln]

4. and he accumulated all those in the past year, apparently...

because last year he lost all his animals in a fire.

http://www.all-creatures.org/aip/nl-9feb2004-jim.html

He is probably what is known as a hoarder, a mentally ill person who really believes they are doing their best for the animals. It's very common.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[seriousstan]

9. THIS is the cutesy stuff I cut.....

"When they arrived on the scene, they found an animal house -- but this one had a twist."

I did not cut the part about his being there a month. I was confined by the rules of DU to limit my post to 4 or less paragraphs from the original article.

As for the "one month" excuse......how long does it take a person to notice 74 ANIMALS? He moved in during the time the neighbors were complaining about the stench coming from the house. HE HAD TO NOTICE!

I don't care what he was trying to do, the animals were suffering and needed to be moved IMMEDIATELY out of the house. Anyone with a lick of sense and compassion would have acted the first day they encountered this crime.

So keep your BULLSHIT and shame to yourself.

[booksenkatz]

7. I don't know about Jim, but this does remind me of a local situation

It seems to fall to me from the Powers-That-Be that I am frequently put into the position of having a needy animal come into my hands. (I've made up my mind that it's part of my reason for being on the planet.) One spring, it was a baby robin after a big storm -- no parents in sight. I obtained several names of local bird rescuers and took the baby to a rescuer close by.

This girl's house was literally packed from ceiling to floor with ill and injured birds of every kind in FILTHY cages. Every single room. I'm glad that she wanted to care for injured birds, but it was plain that she did not know how to do so. I was horrified, and felt like I should report her, then found out soon after that she is no longer involved with bird rescue. Frankly, I am angry with myself to this day that it was not ME who turned her in IMMEDIATELY. But you see, it was the first time I'd met a person who adored animals who didn't know how to care for them.

Those of us who are compelled to devote our lives to looking out for animal welfare do them no favor whatsoever when we take them in from the cruel world and lock them into filthy, sad cages. If Jim's case is as reported, then I am glad that the animals have been found and can now be placed in proper environments.