Shirley Update

I miss you Shirley and I miss Mac too -- God bless him in Heaven.

 

 

WCH Sanctuary

August 29, 2013

 

 

For all of our dear friends who worry about how Shirley's doing these days, I can tell you, she's doing great! We all miss Mac so much but Shirley reminds us that life is to be enjoyed with no regrets. Love this very special girl

Anderson Cooper Calls for Non-profits to be More Transparent!

When I saw this, I just knew I had to post this to my blog as it pertained to the WAO case!  If you've been reading this blog, then you know that for the most part, animal sanctuaries are NOT transparent!

Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS)

August 29, 2013 

Anderson Cooper on his show tonight made clear what he thinks of nonprofits that make their employees sign confidentiality statements (presumably about the inner workings of the charity itself); nonprofits that take in large amounts of money but spend a small percent directly on their mission; and nonprofits that call part of what professional fundraisers (telemarketers in this case) do as "program services" of some type, such as education. Nonprofits are increasingly called upon to be transparent. Make sure you'd be glad to see CNN at your door.

More light needs to be shined on how non-profits operate in the United States -- but sadly, I doubt this will ever happen because if people knew the truth about how most sanctuaries operated, donations would dry up rather quickly.

The POWER of Christian Music

As more animals die at In-Sync Exotics, I cannot help but remember and dream (more like nightmares) what I went through from 2006-2010. So many tears fell during that period...so many animals died. I still don't know how I avoided going crazy with grief as I received word of one animal after another either disappearing or reported dead--over 70 named animals died during this period -- this number does not include the number of the no-named animals that I was unable to confirm as "dead or missing", and yet I know there were many...breaks my heart to this day that there are so many more animals (domestic and exotic) that died at the WAO and will never be remembered in this blog--their bodies simply dumped into animal burial pits to be lost and forgotten forever.

In any case, I wish this song below was available several years ago to help keep me going. Christian music really helped me stay on a true path and I want to thank K-LOVE for playing awesome songs and saying the right words at the right time to its listening audience--me. You guys really ROCK! Again, thank you. 

As I mentioned before, I wish I heard this song played during the animal case because I needed to hear that God was still there for me--rooting me to keep fighting for the animals. While it has become apparent that there will never be justice for the animals, I can sleep at night knowing I never gave up--not once--when it came to the WAO animals.

So I dedicate this song to the folks at In-Sync Exotics. While I realize that by the time they see this posting, the crisis will have already passed, but speaking from experience, they will never forget the pain. I hope Mandisa's songs help remind us all that-- life simply goes on -- and that God will always be there for us as He roots us on to victory!  Praise the Lord!

I created the video below using another of Madisa's songs for In-Sync Exotics' Cat Tale Blog.  Even though I used pictures of the ISE animals in the slideshow/video, the truth was I needed this song for me.  Writing the ISE blog helped the healing process continue by using inspirational songs and fun ISE pictures.  I know this sounds strange, but this song really touched my heart and in a way it kept my healing process moving along.  I wish I heard this song during the WAO animal case because I could have really used some "great wake-up news" during those horrible dark days...

>^..^<  

Tacoma Said Goodbye

Another devastating blow to the volunteers and staff of In-Sync Exotics:

In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue and Educational Center

3 hours ago

I'm afraid I have some devastating news to share. We lost our beloved Tacoma last night. Many of you already know what he's been through this year, but for those who don't, he was diagnosed with hip dysplasia and arthritis early this year, and we flew two vets in from Canada to perform a denervation surgery on him - no one in the U.S. had done this surgery on a tiger before, and they had. The surgery seemed to go well, and Tacoma slowly got stronger. However, during his recovery, he also contracted the canine distemper virus that we are fighting. This made him even weaker, and although we have tried everything to help him, including all the distemper treatments AND his own physical therapist doing water therapy with him in his pool (we built a specialized harness and lift system to get him in and out of his pool), he continued to weaken. Last night, the decision was made to have our veterinarian come out and end Tacoma's struggle. However, as the vet was there, before he had done anything to Tacoma, Tacoma simply slipped away. His fight is over, but ours is just beginning. Each of these losses has been devastating to us, but Tacoma is extremely special to Vicky, our founder and president. She is going to need good thoughts and prayers from every one of us to make it through this. In our own terrible grief, we are going to have to help her, and to be honest, I'm not sure how. Please keep all of us in your thoughts and prayers.

I remember how much Vicky loved Tacoma and I understand that Barbara loved him very much too.  My heart and prayers go out to both ladies.  I know how much it hurts to lose a beloved animal...eventually the horrible pain goes away and all that's left is wonderful memories of time spent together.

God bless you Tacoma...may you find peace and love in Heaven with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. You are no longer sick--just wild and free with your ISE tiger family.  Be free, Tacoma.  Be free.

Collin County News

7th big cat dies at In-Sync Exotics from virus

WYLIE, Texas (AP) — A tiger described as the "soul" of a North Texas animal sanctuary has become the seventh big cat to die from an outbreak of a fatal virus.

A spokeswoman for In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue and Education Center in the Dallas suburb of Wylie said Tacoma died Sunday night. Lisa Williams says Tacoma, a 15-year-old who weighed in excess of 400 pounds, is the sixth tiger killed by canine distemper. A lioness also had died.

More than a dozen other big cats are still suffering from the virus. Experts believe raccoons likely started the outbreak by crawling around the large outdoor cages.

Williams says the death of Tacoma is particularly difficult because he had been with the sanctuary for more than a dozen years.

Will the Texas OAG Take the Hint?

Let's see if the Texas OAG's attorneys takes the hint and (1) reads the last five MORs and (2) demand the last two MORs that are already overdue:

From: Kristina Brunner
Sent: Saturday, August 17, 2013 3:10 PM
To: Morris, Hal; Anthony, James
Cc: Krhovjak, Christopher
Subject: Addendum to formal complaint against the Animal Sanctuary of the United States, dba Wild Animal Orphanage -Missing MOUs

To: Hal Morris

James Anthony

CC: Christopher Krhovjak

August 17, 2013

Dear Sirs:

Please accept this letter as an addendum to the original complaint letter previously submitted to your Office. The information contained herein pertains to my original complaint regarding alleged misrepresentation, misappropriation of funds, and alleged violations of the Animal Welfare Act perpetrated by the non-profit 501 (c) (3) tax exempt organization's owners/operators and Board of Directors of the Animal Sanctuary of the United States, d/b/a Wild Animal Orphanage (WAO); f/k/a the Primate Sanctuary of the U.S. (PSUS), f/k/a the National Sanctuary for Retired Research Primates (NSRRP), f/k/a The San Antonio Wildlife Emergency Centre, f/k/a Primate Sanctuary of America ( PSA ); f/k/a Chimp Aid; f/k/a Cat Haven; and f/k/a Feral Cat Rehabilitation Center and Whisker's and Wag's Humane Society.

For several years now I have elevated my concerns regarding the exorbitant amount of money spent on fuel and unusual expenditures made by WAOdirector/staff to your Office and to the Texas Western District Bankruptcy Court (by way of your Office), in the hopes that you would take action to protect public charitable donations from illegal use by individuals in charge of WAO assets.

I also advised your Office that the Michelle Cryer would continue to use WAO funds for personal reasons after the last WAO animals left the Talley Road property. Needless to say, it appears my prediction may have come true, but then you probably already knew this after examining the January - May 2013 WAO Monthly Operations Reports (MORs), right?

I noticed that Michelle Cryer did not submit MORs for the months of July - August 2013.  Will you be advising her that she must continue to fileMORs with the Western District Bankruptcy Court until the sale of the Talley Road property?  I'm curious to see how much of the WAO charitable donations were used for her own personal use over the summer months!

Thanks!

Regards,

Kristina Brunner

I received confirmation that my email was received:

From: "Krhovjak, Christopher"
To: Kristina Brunner
Sent: Monday, August 19, 2013 11:27 AM
Subject: RE: Addendum to formal complaint against the Animal Sanctuary of the United States, dba Wild Animal Orphanage -Missing MOUs

This email is to acknowledge receipt of your supplemental complaint.  Thank you.

Chris

Now let's see how long it will be before the WAO files its June-July 2013 MORs.  Based on past work performance, I do not anticipate the Texas OAG stopping Cryer from using the charitable funds for her own personal use, do you?

Former WAO Bobcats Harley and Salem Together!

On a more positive note, below is a picture of two former WAO bobcats, Harley and Salem, found on the Wildcat Sanctuary Facebook page!  I believe this is the first time I've seen them pictured together.  Glad to know they are okay and having some fun!

Wildcat Sanctuary

Liked · August 15 

Salem and Harley had so much fun with the perfume enrichment they got today!

May God Bless Crimson In Heaven

I just received word that Crimson, 20-year old cougar living at In-Sync Exotics, passed away today.  

Crimson was sick for some time, battling kidney disease that was first report on the In-Sync Exotics Blog back in 2011. She was such a beautiful animal and I know everyone at In-Sync will miss her very much.

May the Lord Bless and Keep Crimson in His Loving Arms, Forever and Ever -- Amen.

Texas OAG Refused to Follow-Up on Their Own Requests to the WAO Director?

I thought you might be interested to see our tax dollars hard at work at the Texas OAG!

You may want to read this email trail from the bottom - up so it will make more sense to you:

OAG Refused to Followup on Their Own Requests - 062113 

Typical OAG response.  No comment.

January - May 2013 WAO Monthly Operation Reports Finally Filed!

My Texas OAG Open records revealed that the Office had to inform the WAO that they must continue filing their monthly operations report until the Talley Road land was sold (hmmm sounds familiar--didn't I tell the Texas OAG the same thing back in January 2013?).  Turns out, the WAO failed to make the land payments from March - May 2013!  For shame!

Needless to say, there were several "unusual" expenditures made even though there are no animals living at the Talley Road property.  Let's examine the reports that were finally filed with the Texas Western District Courts last month:

January 2013

Wow, ATM withdrawals and fees charged; gas station charges (presumably gasoline purchases); Home Depot purchase; NFS charges; welder supply charge; and Kim Myers seemed to make out like a "bandit" with her "contract work after closing date" charges.

WAO Operation Report - January 2013 

February 2013

This month Kim Meyers made out like a bandit once more for "contract work after closing date"; overdraft fees charged; Home Depot purchase; and several gas station charges made (presumably for gasoline again); plus monthly charges made for credit card processing even though the WAO no longer has need for this service.

WAO Operation Report - February 2013 

March 2013

Okay, in this report, no land payment was made to the lien land holders, but the following charges were made instead:  a lot of NFS fees; Home Depot charge; ATM bank withdrawals; gas station charges (presumably gasoline); and monthly charges for credit card processing which the WAO no longer has a need for this service since the website is down and they are no longer accepting credit card donations.

WAO Operation Report - March 2013

April 2013

Finally, this report's charges were much smaller.  No land payment made to the land lien holders, but there were a couple of gas station purchases (presumably for gasoline) and the usual monthly fee for credit card processing that the WAO no longer uses anymore.  Gasp!  No Home Deport or ATM charges?  

WAO Operation Report - April 2013

May 2013

And finally, the last report filed thus far by the WAO to the Texas Western District Bankruptcy Court...the May MOR.  In this report, Kim Meyer once again collected over $1100 for "contract work after closing."  I wonder what she is doing to collect this kind of paycheck now that the WAO is closed...hmmm.

Also, there's the usual gas station charges (presumably for gasoline) and the monthly charges for credit card processing which the WAO does not use anymore.

WAO Operation Report - May 2013

I believe the total amount of suspicious charges (ATM, gas, and Home Depot charges) comes to about $1,225.85 over a five month period.  Now that may not seem like a lot of money, but if you add in all the NFS charges and useless credit card processes (totaling $738.96), you realize that $1,964.81 simply evaporated and no one, not even the Texas OAG, cared about this waste/theft.  That money could have gone to a sanctuary paying medical bills for a sick former WAO animal.  But no.  The majority of the funds appears to have gone to Michelle Cryer's pocket and the rest to the bank and credit card service providers. 

Shameful!  Just shameful.

>^..^< 

Where Did the WAO Animals Go?

Several months ago, I asked the USDA to send me information pertaining to the WAO animals sent to me under a FOIA. When I did not receive a listing of where the animals went, I decided to send them another FOIA request to see if THEY knew where the animals went:

From: Kristina Brunner
To: foia.officer@aphis.usda.gov
Sent: Wednesday, May 29, 2013 9:55 AM
Subject: Freedom of Information Act Request; Animal Sanctuary of the United States, DBA Wild Animal Orphanage, et al

FOIA Request

USDA, APHIS, FOIA
4700 River Road, Unit 50
Riverdale, MD 20723

Date:  May 29, 2013

Re: Freedom of Information Act Request; Animal Sanctuary of the United States, DBA Wild Animal Orphanage, et al

Dear FOIA Manager:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. Sec. 552. C 

I request a copy of the listing (or individual correspondences) showing where all the ASUS/WAO animals were relocated from 2010 - 2012. 

I request a waiver of all fees for this request. Disclosure of the requested information to me is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government.

In order to save time and money, the preferred method of receiving this information is by email or CD versus hardcopy documents.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

 

Kristina M. Brunner 

When I finally received the information, I was not surprised that the USDA sent me an incomplete and partially inaccurate listing of where the WAO went--par for the course I suppose.  I guess they didn't care where the WAO animals went, whether they went to good homes or not, just as long as they were "gone."

Texas OAG FOIA Response to WAO Animal Relocation - June 27 2013 

Unlike the USDA, I cared where the WAO animals went as I spent months searching for them.  I wonder how many of the animals are still alive today.  Below is a listing I compiled over a two year span.  I believe the information to be accurate based on the sources who provided me the information. There were several animals that I could not find.  If you should know where they went, please let me know via the comments box so I can update the record.  If any information is incorrect, please let me know this too, so I can correct the record.  Thanks!

Animal_WAO_2010!08!23_Inventory (1) - Final Placement

Updated Listing as of April 2014:

Animal_WAO_2010!08!23_Inventory (1) - Final Placement - Updated 042514

Apparently, I was not the only one requesting information on the WAO animals.  I found this on the USDA site:

CASE NO. 11-044

LAST NAME  Byron-Marasek

FIRST NAME  Joan

AFFILIATION  Tigers Only Preservation Society

DATE  RECEIVED  10/22/2010

DATE DUE OUT 12/3/2010

TRACK   Fast

SUBJECT

Requesting a copy of the entire list of tigers (animal inventory) housed at The Wild Animal Orphanage (WAO) located at Leslie Road site and Talley Road site in San Antonio, Texas. This list should include names, ages sexes and places of origin of each of the tigers.   Also photographs of all tigers located at WAO and the full identity of any and all places and sanctuaries where the tigers are being placed.  In addition, the requester is seeking photographs of the 55 tigers at WAO.  

CLOSURE DATE  12/2/2010

I'd be curious to know if she received anything she requested from the USDA/APHIS.

Kizmet Had A Seizure Last Week

This was posted on Carolina Rescue's Facebook page today...

Kizmet and Christian*. Kizmet update: Kizmet had a 30 second seizure last week, – in older cats this is most likely due to brain tumor, stroke, or kidney failure (causing hypertension and therefore a stroke). We are watching her for signs of seizure activity, but so far, she’s her normal happy-go-lucky self. — at Carolina Tiger Rescue.

  *China=Christian, Kashmir=Max, and Kizmet is still Kizmet

I suppose there is no sense in sending an email to Carolina Tiger Sanctuary again, asking how Kizmet is doing as they will probably just lie to me again.  Sigh.

God Bless You, Kizmet... I pray you do not have a serious health condition and that you will continue to thrive at Carolina Tiger Rescue...

>^..^< 

Much later:  According to the memorial page of Carolina Tiger Rescue, Kismet died on  March 28, 2014.

We lost Kizmet in March, 2014. Kizmet had been declining for a couple of weeks and we felt that she no longer enjoyed many "good" days. Her necropsy revealed masses in her lungs. Dr. Lassiter believes that she had metastasis to her lungs from a primary brain tumor. Otherwise, her organs looked normal for a tiger of her age

May God bless Kismet's soul in Heaven forever and ever more.

Kizmet

Kizmet left as a cub, Marcus in middle and Christian looking at the camera

Goodbye Sweet Kazuri...

Kazuri
 June 16, 1999 - August 11, 2013

Earlier this morning I received word that Kazuri passed away on his playground today.  Apparently, earlier in the morning (9:00AM) he was chuffing and greeting people.  When he was checked on about an hour later, he was no longer breathing.  

Kazuri is the brother of Harley who also passed away from Canine Distemper.  I didn't think Kazuri's symptoms were as bad as the rest, but I guess this virus is more devastating than anyone expected.

From  ISE volunteers regarding the sudden death of Kazuri: 

"I guess to me, it's the opposite - I think it's so much better to have had a chance to prepare yourself for something like that rather than such a horribly unexpected death...It was certainly totally devastating to Vicky. The fact that Kazuri was one of the last cats we expected to pass away had to do a lot with it, I think. He didn't appear sick or suffering at all......And he was gone in a flash, while the others keep suffering....And another horrible thing is that - now we really have no idea who might be next.... ANYONE....I was so stunned that all I could do was just sit there like an idiot....The interns were crying, Vicky was a wreck, and I just sat and sat there...I still haven't registered that there is no more Kazuri. NO MORE."

"It's taken me awhile to be able to post this. But on Friday, we went to InSync for a Volunteer Appreciation Dinner and after I had to go say hi to my buddy Kazuri. He was so happy to see me, running as soon as he heard my call him name. He gave me lots of great chuffs even covering my glasses with chuff spittle. All he wanted was my love and attention, and I gave him that along with a kiss on the nose. It was a great evening! And then... Sunday morning he was gone. So unexpectedly I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it and coming to terms with it. How can an such amazing cat be fine one minute and gone the next? I was already devasted by the lose of Harley, Apollo, Layla, Abrams and Lucca... But now my boy Kazuri?!?!? It's just too much to take! I love you Zuri Man and I will miss your sweet chuffs and kisses!"

May Kazuri rest in peace with his brother Harley in Heaven with our Lord and Savior forever and ever....and may God Bless, Protect, and Heal the remaining 16 big cats that have this horrible, horrible, virus.  Thank you, Jesus...Amen.

Hard to Say Goodbye

Every time I hear that another tiger must be put down from Canine Distemper at In-Sync Exotics, I can't help but feel profoundly sad--my heart physical hurts.  Brings back very sad memories of when I would get word that another animal died at the WAO.  It's a sickening, hit-you-in-the-guts, kind of feeling that just does not go away any time soon.

Happier times for Lucca - 2010

Today I received word Lucca is going to be put down on Thursday.  While I've been expecting this news for some time, I cannot help but feel that the world is going to lose another beautiful animal and Heaven is going to welcome home another angel animal to His Kingdom.  Godspeed Lucca -- may you run wild and free with your tiger family in Heaven, sweet tiger.

RIP -- A beautiful tiger who passed away before her time... August 8, 2013