Animal lovers, and especially cat lovers, throughout the internet were appalled and outraged by the senseless, mindless, and soulless torture and killing of approximately thirty cats residing in the supposedly safe environment provided at Noah's Ark Animal Shelter in Fairfield, Iowa. Mainly through the tireless efforts of dedicated cat people who post regularly on the AcmePet Cat's Window Bulletin Board the word is being spread--widely.

Briefly, here's the story, taken from a recent post on the BB:

Noah's Ark Foundation is run by David Sykes and his wife Laura. They originally had about 65 to 70 cats living in the shelter, which essentially is a big house. Apparently some person or persons broke into the shelter late Friday night, and beat up and killed somewhere between 15 and 20 cats. Another 6 were injured, and some are still missing. Two or three have returned unharmed to the shelter.

Help is needed to alert the media and the general public to this atrocity and goad them to action. The killers must be found and punished, but most of all, the laws with regard to animal abuse must be changed. Criminals like those who perpetrated this fiendish act cannot be allowed to go free with a light slap so that they can repeat the crime elsewhere. The Fairfield sheriff was quoted as saying, "These kids aren't evil, they just don't like cats."!!! So, he is really saying, if you don't like something or someONE, it's OK to kill it (him). Let's pray these "kids" don't decide they don't like their parents, their siblings, their neighbors, their teachers, their schoolmates...you know what I'm saying.

The shelter, a no-kill organization, is dedicated to give loving care to orphaned and abandoned cats; if they are not adopted into a private home, they are kept at the shelter for the rest of their lives.Sadly, at last report, the shelter had been closed for an indefinite period. Many net people have already sent donations to help with care of the survivors, including hospital and medical care. Please contribute whatever you can, no matter how small, to:

Noah's Ark Foundation, P O Box 748 Fairfield, IA 52556

Update: 10/22/97

Here's the latest pre-trial commentary on the Noah's Ark massacre. For those of you unfamiliar with the incident, some teenage boys broke into an animal shelter and wantonly massacred and/or seriously abused a number of cats.

Dick Weavil

nyppsi@aol.com / RezQ1@aol.com

AnimalTalk, Inc.

http://www.animaltalk.org

QUOTE

<<FAIRFIELD, Iowa (AP) - It has taken some time, but Mr. Mom doesn't run and hide from people anymore. The short-haired, charcoal-gray cat sidles up to a visitor at Noah's Ark animal sanctuary, rubs against a leg and purrs.

Last March, Mr. Mom and dozens of other strays were trapped inside the shelter as teen-age intruders slipped in late at night and started swinging baseball bats. Sixteen cats were killed and another dozen severely battered.

``It was done by people who are dangerous. This was not a kid's prank. Thiswas off the scale,'' said shelter owner David Sykes.

While Mr. Mom appears to be back to normal, the rampage still stirs emotions in this southeast Iowa community of 10,000 people as a Nov. 4 trial nears for two of the three teens charged in the attack.

``I'm a cat lover. I own five of them. But as far as punishment goes, what good is it to put them in jail?'' asked Dan Davis, a bartender at the Town &Country tavern.

Chad Lamansky and Daniel Myers are charged with burglary as well as felony and aggravated misdemeanor charges for offenses against an animal shelter. If convicted, they could get at least 10 years in prison and $15,000 in fines.

The third teen, Justin Toben, agreed to testify against his buddies in exchange for the dismissal of some charges. He was sentenced to three years' probation and 200 hours of community service, and must pay restitution.

Sykes' voice shook and his eyes welled with tears when he recalled thecarnage at the sanctuary's small white house: ``There was blood everywhere - spatters on the refrigerator and walls.'' Furniture was disheveled and cats roamed the house ``with broken jaws and limbs hanging,'' he said.

In the basement, he found 10 bodies beneath a pile of blankets and towels. Scores of other cats quivered with fear in the rafters of the basement.

He counted 15 bodies; the 16th didn't turn up until several days later when its smell led him to look underneath a sofa where the battered feline had crawled up into the springs and died.

News of the attack spread quickly, and hundreds of outraged letters have flooded into Jefferson County Attorney John Morrissey's office. Nearly all carried the same message.

``Throw the book at those monsters,'' demanded Grace Schikowitz, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Particularly troubling to Richard W. Swain Jr., vice president of investigations for The Humane Society of the United States, is the extreme violence and past acts allegedly committed by the 18-year-olds.

``Any thinking person has got to question what happened here,'' said Swain, who is helping prosecutors. ``I've given up trying to figure out why people do the things they do.''

Prosecutors plan to offer evidence the teens killed a cat belonging to Lamansky's mother, skinned it and showed the remains to friends before the shelter attack.

Ruled as inadmissible is a photograph of a bumper sticker - ``Missing your cat? Look under my tires'' - that had been affixed to Lamansky's truck.

Jefferson County District Judge Daniel P. Wilson last week ordered the trial moved to another county, saying extensive publicity would make selecting a jury difficult.

``I've handled a lot of cases that would generate publicity, but I have never seen anything like this case,'' said Lamansky's attorney, Kirk Daily.

Neither has Sykes, who said he still has trouble sleeping at night.

``It wasn't just one animal killed,'' he said. ``This thing went on and on and on. What kind of a human being can do that? They just kept swinging.''>>

UNQUOTE

Note by Doris: In addition to being horrified by the slaughter itself, I was further distressed at the news that Mr. Mom was one of those killed. Apparently, according to this report, Mr. Mom survived and is now back to normal in his trust of humans. If true, tears of joy for Mr. Mom!

Visit these other sites

Cat's Window Bulletin Board -- for recent updates & other ways you can help

lisaviolet's cathouse -- for a beautiful tribute and a petition

Laura's Links -- for a tribute,more information, addresses of Fairfield law enforcement agencies

ClydeSight 2.0 -- Tribute and special memorial music composed by Clyde Big Paws

Noah's Ark Foundation -- about the shelter--what it does for homeless animals--pictures of some of the kitties living there (who may not be living there now). If you leave with dry eyes, you're just too stoic!

Candle Service -- a special tribute to the lost kitties

This next is for David and Laura, for Siamese, and for all those who knew and loved the departed babies of Noah's Ark Shelter. The music you've been hearing is "Sheep may safely graze" by JS Bach; I have reworded the English translation of the lyrics slightly, but the meaning remains intact.

Kitties may safely play in sweet meadows, while a gentle Keeper watches over them--free from fear and safe from harm, everlasting peace and joy now theirs. Joy and freedom, peace and love, eternally, kitties may safely play...