Oral arguments have been set in the final court showdown against Lafayette Parish for their refusal to provide us with the documents regarding its horrendous “Roicy Horror Show” shelter. It is at 9 AM May 14th at Lafayette, LA district courthouse located at 800 South Buchanan Avenue, in the courtroom of Judge Herman Clause. This lawsuit is the Roe v Wade of holding government-run horror animal shelters accountable to laws and regulations which are intended to protect impounded dogs and cats. We have reason to believe that Lafayette Parish has been violating numerous state, federal and local laws, regulations, and ordinances. Last year a dozen of us were forced to sue the parish when it refused to comply with the Louisiana Public Records Law and refused to produce the documents that would either prove or disprove our belief. They have also refused to produce them in court. The court arguments on Wednesday May 14 will be to compel them to produce the documents.
Last week, in a telephone conference preliminary court session, the judge threatened to order the parish to produce 40,000 documents on May 14th, even though we are not seeking more than 1000. The parish has threatened to appeal if the judge carries out his threat. THIS IS THE BIGGEST LEGAL SHOWDOWN IN SOUTHERN ANIMAL ADVOCACY SINCE GEORGIA WAS SUED FOR VIOLATING ITS OWN STATE LAW BY RE-ISSUING GAS CHAMBER LICENSES IN MARCH 2007. These two lawsuits are the ONLY two animal control reform advocacy lawsuits in the entire south and midwest. There is only one other such law suit in the nation other than these two, where two animal rescuers and Nathan Winograd have sued Los Angeles animal control.
If we do not show up in court to show the judge that citizens DO care about cities and towns flagrantly violating existing animal laws meant to protect animals in municipal animal control shelters, WHO WILL? As the three dozen people who showed up at our previous oral arguments saw, it was their presence which swayed the two judges who heard three Motions in one day. And yes, we DID win all three motions. We need everyone to show up again.
We have been told that there will be media this time, so PLEASE, PLEASE come to stand up for the dogs and cats who cannot be there and who will be gassed that very day. As an added bonus for everyone, we have scheduled the Maddie’s Fund meeting to start right after oral arguments are over at 5 PM, in the public library meeting room down the block from the courthouse. It is located at 301 West Congress street. People are coming from Texas, all over Louisiana, Georgia, MS, NC, and SC. Four of us are flying in from NYC and elsewhere at our own expense to help kick-start Louisiana and the surrounding states to reform their animal control services. We are giving our maximum effort in this once in a lifetime chance to give you monetary and other empowerments and resources for the next 7-10 years with several million dollars in rescue and adoption subsidies thru the Maddie’s Fund.
LET’S TAKE TWO STEPS IN ONE DAY BY SHOWING ONE OF THE “WORST OF THE WORST” OPERATED ANIMAL CONTROL POUNDS IN THE SOUTH THAT THEY CANNOT KEEP UP THEIR DIRTY DEEDS IN A FREE, OPEN, AND LAWFUL SOCIETY, AND BY GETTING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR 7-10 YEARS FROM THE MADDIES FUND TO FLOW INTO THE REGION TO SUPPORT YOUR RESCUE EFFORTS.
If can make these two advancements come about as a result of Katrina we will finally have fulfilled our obligations to our four legged friends who perished in such a tortuous manner. Below is the News Release which will be sent to the media. I would LOVE to have a confirmation if you are going to come to one or both events on May 14th.
Faithfully yours,
Garo Alexanian
Katrina Lifeline Programs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Fran Borges
Breaux Bridge, LA
337-288-6604
Ten Louisiana residents’ challenge to Parish’s refusal to provide documents goes to court
LAFAYETTE, LA (May 10, 2008) After one year of refusals to provide copies of any documents whatsoever to concerned Louisiana citizens about the horrible administration of Lafayette’s municipally operated animal pound, on Wednesday May 14 at 9 AM Lafayette Parish has to account in court for their failure to abide by the Louisiana Records Access Law.
In a telephone conference court session Judge Herman Clause threatened to order Lafayette Parish to produce 40,000 documents at the oral arguments on May 14th. The Louisiana petitioners have claimed that the Parish will not be able to produce 40,000 responsive documents to their Records Access request and will instead produce non-requested documents because the Parish has not created, maintained nor kept the legally required documents. The Parish attorney has threatened to appeal if Judge Herman Clause issues such an order on May 14th, setting up a showdown in the six month old law suit.
The law suit is available for download at
http://www.companionanimalnetworktv.org/Lafayette%20Law%20Suit.html
Sponsored by Lafayette Animal Control and Lafayette Area Veterinarians
*All pets must be properly contained* *Please come early*
Cost $7.00 per animal
April 5, 2008 1:30PM – 2:30PM
- Edgar Martin Elementary
- Northside High
- St. Anthony’s Church
- Ossun Elementary
- Duson City Hall
- Youngsville Middle
- Judice Middle
April 12, 2008 1:30PM – 2:30PM
- Prairie Elementary
- Comeaux High
- Immaculate Heart of Mary
- Carencro Middle
- Leo Judice Elementary
- Broussard City Hall
- Milton Elementary
*All animals maintained in the Parish of Lafayette over the age of four months must be vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian and registered with the city yearly.
*No animal is to be allowed to roam at large in the Parish of Lafayette. This does include cats!
*No person shall allow any animal under his or her control upon public property of upon the property of another without some device for the removal and containment of such animal’s excrement; nor shall any person fail to remove any excrement deposited by any animal.
*Love *License *Leash *Vaccinate * Your Pet ***It Is the Law***
Click here to download and print the rabies_flyer_20081.pdf Fill out the form on the rabies flyer, one for each pet you plan to bring to the rabies clinic.
Consult your veterinarian regarding other vaccinations your pet should be given.
*REMEMBER – There are now fines attached for failure to vaccinate your pet against rabies.
Construction of our hurricane safe cat shelter is moving along nicely. Thanks to a generous donor, the foundation and the steel building kit are completely paid for. We are almost finished with the outside of the cat shelter. There is just some minor trim work left to do before we will have to raise more funds before being able to do anything else.
Our next step is to obtain donations of building supplies for the windows and the interior walls and everything needed to complete construction inside our cat shelter. We have a list of needed supplies, which include, but are not limited to the following:
190 – 2 x 4 x 8’s
50 – 2 x 4 x 12‘s
90 sheets of 4 x 8 sheet rock
Screws; Nail gun nails
Sheet rock mud, and Sheet rock tape
Tile or epoxy paint for 720 sq. ft.
3 interior doors and door frames
1 toilet, wall flush mount
4 windows
1 small sink
4 ceiling fans
3 or 4 a/c and heat window units; or 1 Central 2 Ton Unit
Refrigerator
16 circuit fuse box, wire, outlets, lights, switches, etc.
Metal cabinets that lock for supplies
Sturdy Industrial strength storage shelves for pet food storage
Washable wall panels
Floor sealant; Ceramic tiles
Phone lines, phone jacks, phone with 2 lines
Exterior door for back of building
Fence, posts, gates, etc. for fencing in dog yards
Concrete Stepping Stones to make sidewalk
If you have any building supplies that you would like to donate, please contact us at 337-668-4484, or send us an email at info@acadianahumane.org and let us know what you have to offer. We are a 501c3 non-profit animal rescue, so we can provide you with a donation receipt for tax purposes if you like.
If you would like to make a donation of money, you can send PayPal to
shelter@acadianahumane.org
If you would like to send a check or money order, please make it out to Acadiana Humane Society, and note that it is for the shelter, then mail it to:
Acadiana Humane Society
P.O. Drawer C
Sunset, LA 70584-0536
Thank you!
Wild Cat Foundation presents: NO KILL SEMINAR
Featuring the foremost expert in the no-kill revolution, author of “Redemption”:
Nathan J. Winograd
Humane organizations are urged to attend.
OPEN to the PUBLIC
We must all work together to make a change.
Spay/Neuter is the cure for pet overpopulation.
Dates: March 8-9, 2008
FREE Registration – 7:30 to 8:30 AM
Seminar – 8:30am-5:00pm (both days)
Location: Petroleum Club 111 Heyman Blvd. Lafayette, LA
