BARNES WALKER GARRET T. BARNES ADRON H. WALKER JEFFREY S. GOETHE* ROBERT A. HOONHOUT# PAUL F. GRONDAHL** ELIZABETH C. PENNEWILL JOY LEGGETT-MURPHY GOETHE & HOONHOUT CHARTERED ATTORNEYS AT LAW * Board Certified in Wills, Trusts and Estates Law # Also admitted in NJ ** Board Certified in Marital and Family Law PUBLIC STATEMENT REGARDING THE CURRENT CLOSURE OF NAPIER’S LOG CABIN HORSE & ANIMAL SANCTUARY, INC. February 5, 2014 I am the attorney for Alan and Sheree Napier. It is with regret and concern that I must respond to the sudden closure without warning today of Napier’s Log Cabin Horse & Animal Sanctuary, Inc., and the Napier Family Farm by the Manatee Sheriff’s Office and Manatee County Animal Services. The closure has happened despite every effort on the part of Alan and Sheree to cooperate with all possible governmental agencies that regulate the care of animals. For information and background regarding these efforts, most recently occurring last month, please see the attached letter that was emailed 6 days ago to the Honorable Carol Whitmore, Manatee County Commissioner at Large, the Commissioner who is the Board’s liaison with Manatee County Animal Services. The closure occurred today because Manatee County Animal Services had been told by Alan and Sheree that Alan and Sheree would be out of town celebrating their wedding anniversary this week, and only their children would be caring for the animals. Alan and Sheree customarily coordinate with Manatee County Animal Services anytime they are leaving town should Manatee County Animal Services ever want to visit the sanctuary. This closure also occurred despite the fact that Alan and Sheree have maintained an open, continuous dialogue with Manatee County Animal Services for years and are typically inspected by Manatee County Animal Services on a quarterly basis. Finally, this closure occurred despite Alan and Sheree voluntarily requesting Manatee County Animal Services to temporarily stop sending them animals last November, so that they could focus on expanding and improving their facilities, caring for the animals they already had, and posting their pictures online. (Alan and Sheree are open about their activities and have their own website at www.napierfamilyfarm.com for their sanctuary in which they provide substantial information about their sanctuary and its successes.) Unfortunately, despite Alan’s and Sheree’s continuous efforts to improve, communicate, and cooperate with Manatee County Animal Services, no one from Manatee County would sit down with Alan and Sheree and indicate what the problem was that apparently caused the closure of their Sanctuary today. My first concerns are: Will the closure of Alan’s and Sheree’s sanctuary truly outweigh all of the good that it did? Are we allowing our desire for the very best care and best homes for homeless and abandoned animals to prevent Alan and Sheree from providing just adequate or good care for the animals? Since its inception, Napier’s has been a true, no-kill rescue shelter that makes a commitment to the animals it takes in for life. Animals are cared for until an adoptive home can be found, be it one week, one year, or an entire lifetime. Alan and Sheree also take in farm animals including horses, ducks, pigs, goats, and chickens, all of which are living at Napier’s now. MAIN OFFICE: 3119 MANATEE AVENUE WEST BRADENTON, FL 34205 TELEPHONE (941) 741-8224 REAL ESTATE FAX (941) 741-8225 GENERAL FAX (941) 708-3225 ANNA MARIA ISLAND OFFICE: 5914 MARINA DRIVE HOLMES BEACH, FL 34217 *** TELEPHONE (941) 778-7721 FACSIMILE (941) 779-2042 SARASOTA OFFICE: FOUNDATION PARK 2639 FRUITVILLE RD, STE 102 SARASOTA, FL 34237 TELEPHONE (941) 827-2222 FACSIMILE (941) 952-3005 STATE ROAD 70 EAST OFFICE: 9020 58TH DRIVE EAST SUITE 103 BRADENTON, FL 34202 TELEPHONE: (941) 727-8006 FACSIMILE (941) 727-8228 “A REAL ESTATE, WILLS/TRUSTS, CIVIL LITIGATION AND BUSINESS LAW GROUP” Visit us at www.barneswalker.com Unfortunately, Alan and Sheree are doing all of their work without the benefit of any wealthy individual donors or large corporate donors and without the best of facilities or the greatest of resources compared to other rescue animal operations. They are taking care of, and have taken care of, hundreds of pets and other animals who would otherwise have no food, no shelter, no medical care, and no chance of adoption. Despite all these limitations, since the inception of Napier’s in late 2004, Napier’s has placed over 1,600 pets in new homes. From 2010 through 2013, Napier’s has taken in and cared for 286 dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens from Manatee County Animal Services itself. Alan and Sheree not only take in animals off the street, but also accept from government shelters pets for whom the shelters are unable to find homes. But for Alan and Sheree, those pets would have been killed in shelters or perished on the streets. Also, Alan and Sheree have paid for medical treatment for many of those animals that the transferring shelters could not afford. At any one time, Alan and Sheree are typically caring for 200 or more pets and other animals at Napier’s. My second concern is: Will all the animals seized from Alan and Sheree be adopted out or cared for the rest of their lives at the shelter – be it a governmental or private shelter – to which they are sent? At Alan’s and Sheree’s sanctuary they would be taken care of for the rest of their lives if need be, to the best of Alan’s and Sheree’s abilities. I ask the public and the press to monitor what happens to the animals removed from Alan’s and Sheree’s – and not just the dogs and cats. Remember they also have horses, pigs, goats, ducks, chickens, etc. My third concern is: Have Manatee County, the pet lovers, and other animal rescue organizations who may have had a part in this closure actually weighed the actual good versus any bad? Are they acting on rumor? Often volunteers from other rescue organizations expressed concern about what happens behind the Napier’s fences and closed gates, insinuating that bad things may be happening behind the fences and the gate. Actually, the fences and gates are there for 2 reasons. The Napier family lives there and it rescues horses, so the fences and gates are there for privacy and, if you own horses along a busy roadway like I do, you know about the “two-gate rule” – you always want two gates and fencing between horses and roadways . In case a horse accidentally gets through one gate or fence, you still have another between the horse and the road. Further, if 10 or 20 animals are found to be in poor health or condition out of the 200 or more animals that Alan and Sheree at any one time cared for, that is both regrettable and should be corrected. But do those 10 or 20 justify ignoring the benefits received by the 180 or 190 animals, that 90% or 95% that are now in good health or condition, but might not otherwise be cared for or alive today? I heard an animal rescue volunteer say to the television cameras: “This is a good day for the animals!” All the while, she was holding a beautiful, well cared for dachshund-mix dog that was being removed from the sanctuary. Therefore, I also ask the press and the people not only to take note of animals on the TV reports that are not in the best of condition, but also those that are obviously in very good health. Then, everyone should ask themselves is a 75%, 80%, or 90% success rate that bad? Have I myself scored an 80% or 90% on a test and been very happy and/or relieved about it? My fourth concern is: Have all the circumstances been considered and all the facts been determined? Alan and Sheree use a number of veterinarians who kindly provide their services at reduced or no cost. Alan and Sheree also, to save costs and due to the lack of funding, try to care for many of the animal’s conditions themselves. Some animals are rescued by them in deplorable condition and take time to recuperate. Thus, before the County made a judgment regarding the closure of the sanctuary, they should have sat down with Alan and Sheree about the animals with which they were concerned, asked them how long they had the animal, what was its condition like when it was received, what care has already been provided and by whom, is there an ongoing plan for care, etc. How much does all of the animals’ care and feeding cost? Alan and Sheree have answered those questions in the past, could have answered (and in fact tried to answer) them in the present, and will most definitely answer them in the future. In other words, TV reports and newspaper photographs do not tell us everything. If you see a video of a dying person, a bleeding individual, or someone crying out in pain, do you know whether they are receiving good medical care? Or, do you need to know whether they are in a hospital emergency room, when they arrived, whether they have been seen by a nurse or doctor, whether they are on their way to surgery, etc.? My final concern is: “Are all of us not also responsible?” As I indicated in the attached letter to Commissioner Whitmore, I am both an animal owner and caregiver. My wife and I a year ago adopted from Alan and Sheree a wonderful Schnauzer-Poodle mixed dog named Louie and a stray kitten named Ellie, both of which are adorable pets. We contribute to Napier’s, the local Humane Society, a local cat rescue, the National Humane Society, and the Worldwide and National Wildlife Funds. I cannot help but think, however, had we given more, maybe Alan and Sheree would not have the problem they now have. What about you? Adron H. Walker, Esq. 2 \\Bwserver\Everyone\BWTITLE\Letterhead-Fax Covers-Wire Inst\Main\Chartered-Letterhead-With Footers.doc