And Now THE REAL FIGHT Begins

We've been a little slow in posting information here for a variety of reasons. We'd like to have our attornies (all of them) review information before we post it.

Here's what we know we can say right now:

FIRST -- all of you are amazing and we are grateful for EVERY effort you've made and continue to make for the animals. We are still waiting for the city's response to the writ -- not surprising that they're dragging their heels. [more below]

Your continued phone calls and emails are very powerful. Now that we have some of the court documents from Alex and Gloria's cases -- we've been able to find out the fate of some of our animals and it is nauseating. We continue to say -- IF there had been a problem AND the city's true concern was for the animals (which after what we've read about what they did to some of them that could hardly be the case) THEN a 10-day notice to comply would have been Wesley Moore and Lt. Quigley's obvious choice to remedy the situation. This simple fact cannot be yelled from every rooftop loudly enough. The Mayor NEEDS to be held accountable for his lack of response to this situation. Please let him know your feelings: mayor@longbeach.gov

We are preparing the case files for Alex and Gloria's cases and helping in any way that we can. The cost of this case is enormous but TOTALLY worth it. However both women could use any financial help you have to offer. This case will cost $35,000 minimum. You may contact their attornies at Williamson & Krauss at 18801 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 206, Tarzana, CA 91356,(818)344-4000 to help. Any donation helps, it all adds up!

The city has yet to respond to the civil suit filed on behalf of the 4 volunteers who were subjected to excessive use of force at the raid. The city needs to explain why a 12-year old boy watching the police needed to be tasered. The city needs to explain why two other teenage volunteers needed to have their arms wishboned behind them. And, the city needs to explain how a 69-year old woman posed such a threat that she needed to be put face-down, spread-eagle on the pavement and refused access to her medication for four hours.

The city will need to respond to the writ filed on behalf of the animals soon. Michael Rotsten will be representing the animals and is now the attorney of standing/record for the animals. Again, your emails and letters to Wesley Moore (wesley.moore@longbeach.gov) about this kangaroo court (an animal control official decides if Animal Control's seizure was legal -- strike anyone else as a bit ridiculous?) and the total lack of concern for the animals is helpful. Mr. Moore needs to know that you are watching THIS case as well and that the animals have served their political purpose in his game -- they had after a meer 2 days when Ed Boks of LA Animal Services offered to house all of them at no cost to the City of Long Beach and keep them safe from Quigley's needle of death. Mr. Moore's style of animal control is unacceptable in our modern-day society...we might have ignored it in medieval times -- it is NOT ACCEPTABLE in California today. We could also use your help defraying Mr. Rotsten's fees to combat the shoddy work of the city of Long Beach. Tax deductible donations may be made through Noah's Ark's web site to the animals' defense fund via PayPal. You can also make non-tax deductible donations directly to Mr. Rotsten at 16133 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 700, Encino, CA 91436. Due to Mr. Rotsten's many animal rights cases, he is unable to take phone calls right now.

We feel very lucky to have all of our attornies at our sides -- they are all highly skilled gentlemen.

Thank you again for the vital part you are all playing in this demand for justice. It's our hope that we will see some sort of reform in Long Beach as the result of these cases and that they will help put all archaic animal control agencies on notice that their backward and out-of-step policies are no longer viable. Our greatest hope is that the results of our cases can be used as precedents for other rescues in California. We KNOW other rescues will encounter the same underhanded, vendetta that Noah's Ark has been subjected to; we hope this will be of help to them.

Have we reached the tipping point yet in California? Hardly. Are we on the path to reform? Yes. Can you make a difference? You betcha!

It Wasn't Pretty

At today's arraignment, Gloria and Alex were both charged AND the District Attorney asked for $260,000 bail for each of them. The judge presiding felt that a quarter of a million dollars was excessive and dropped it to $100,000. We are raising bail right now. We need $10,000 each and collateral valued at $100,000 for the bonds person.

Additionally, starting legal fees are $35,000. Have you caught on to LBAC's plan yet?? You guessed it! They hope to break us financially so we have to drop the case.

Every day we receive generous donations from people like you -- we are able to fight this fight on behalf of rescues large and small who give their service to animals. We are hoping we can set a precedent with Noah's Ark that will benefit all rescues in California.

But in the meantime -- we need your help!!!
Donations can be made through the Noah's Ark web site for the animals, or to Williamson & Krauss for Alex and Gloria (18801 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 206, Tarzana, CA 91356)

Mark your calendars for January 4th at 8:30 AM in Dept. 56 of the Long Beach Court.

It's GO Time!

Thanks for stopping into the Noah's Ark Animal Justice Committee's blog. We encourage you to scroll down to read about this case and we hope you'll visit frequently to stay updated on the latest happenings.

WE NEED YOUR HELP on several fronts.

December 21 at 1:30 PM
Please use that sick day at work or whatever you need to do to join us at court on December 21st. We will be at the Long Beach Court at 415 Ocean Avenue in Long Beach. Court is set for 1:30 PM. They will probably try to change the venue at about 1:20 PM hoping you will all cave in and figure it's not worth the effort. DON'T Fall for this tactic! This court date is when Alex and Gloria will each be charged with 13 felonies and 2 misdemeanors. This is LUDICROUS! We also anticipate the media will be there. Please join us to show your support for the animals of Noah's Ark -- they are being used as political pawns in this vendetta by Long Beach Animal Control.

December 14
We filed a writ of appeal today against the seizure by Long Beach Animal Control. Previously an animal control staff person acted as "judge" to determine if the seizure was legal. How's that for the fox guarding the hen house?! WE NEED YOUR FINANCIAL HELP -- any donation of any size is huge to us. You can send a donation directly to our Attorney, Mr. Michael Rotsten 16133 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 700, Encino, CA 91436 (818) 789-0256 OR if you want your donation to be tax deductible -- you can donate through PayPal on the www.noahsarkanimalrescue.com site. To be clear, PayPal donations go to a bank account that can only be used for Noah's Ark's animals. $5/$10/$15 donations add up quickly. Our legal fees are $5,000 already. We'll keep you posted on the status of the writ here.

TODAY AND EVERYDAY
The one thing that has forced Long Beach Animal Control to toe the line and kept the Mayor from just brushing this under the rug is the constant attention from people like you! Emails, phone calls, letters that tell city officials that treating rescues this way is unacceptable, that Noah's Ark should have been given a 10-day notice to comply, and that you will encourage others not to shop, dine, or do anything that might result in revenue for the city. Public outcry has made a difference!

If you are a 501C-3 rescue and have space for a cat or dog, please consider rescuing one of ours. Rescues are being given a preferrential rate on our animals of $25 for dogs, $17 for cats. Pets over 6 have a $10 discount. You will also have to pay for a spay or neuter -- please note the majority of our pets were fixed. There were no un-neutered adult male dogs or cats at the facility. Animal Control forced one adopter to spay a dog that had already been spayed -- this was a family adopting the dog! We encourage you to stand your ground if LBAC attempts to deny you an animal. Feel free to contact Sean Petersen in the Mayor's office if you are given grief or the runaround.

THANK YOU
LBAC was hoping to outlast your attention span, they were hoping to divide and conquer the rescue community, and they have been trying to use the media to spin their story. Thank you for seeing through the games. Thank you for continuing to care. Thank you most of all for putting the respect of animals high on your list.

Please, join in the fight in any way you can!

See a filmloop of our animals at http://www.filmloop.com/cgi-bin/bv/bv.py?ticket=4RgWdUvqvIcCKZBN6rdcwqGrwAGR5e15&flash=1&extAds=1&px=FL3

Protect Our Civil Liberties

Please read this important story of corruption and the disregard of animal rights in Connecticut: http://www.geocities.com/stop_corruption_now/please_help_us.html

We are close to our goal

We have raised $3200 for the animal rights attorney, Michael Rotsten. We need to deliver the rest of the funds to Mr. Rotsten before noon tomorrow -- that's just $300 more. Any size contribution can make a difference.

Mr. Rotsten will file an appeal against the illegal seizure of our animals if we can get him the funds he needs to file the case and cover his time.

$10, $25 -- everything can make a big difference right now!

You can donate through the Noah's Ark Animal Rescue web site if you want your donation to be tax deductible or directly to Mr. Rotsten:

www.noahsarkanimalrescue.com
or Mr. Michael Rotsten -- (818) 789-0256

Help us make this goal and get this case in front of a judge (not a kangaroo court called an Animal Control Administrative Hearing) -- our animals are depending on you!

It's Not Just Us -- Long Beach is Under the National Eye

While many would like to paint Noah's Ark supporters and Alex/Gloria as despicable and crazy -- don't buy the spin, in truth we are anything but! Media spin by animal control agencies and apathy on the part of city government seems to reign not only in Long Beach but in communities around the country. And now -- others are helping us to spotlight this case as yet another demonstration of the ruthless efforts of people like Lt. Quigley and Wesly Moore go unchecked.

Change only comes from citizens in this country saying enough is enough when it comes to entrenched, bureaucratic bodies who abuse their position and power. Have you had enough yet?

We are not alone in our efforts to change and reform the sad state of animal rights. Meet another rescuer in CT whose plight is not much different than ours. We have been included in the web site about her efforts to expose the truth of animal control practices and abuses as a demonstration of unity, as another place to bring more awareness to what's happening in Long Beach. Rescuers across the country are under fire as people gain the knowledge of what their tax dollars are being used for -- much to their growing horror.

For any rescuer to attack another in this climate is sad -- it is time for unity. As we continue to fight, we stand arm in arm with other rescuers who are fighting the fight. Think globally, act locally!

http://www.geocities.com/stop_corruption_now/please_help_us.html

Scroll down to this site's inclusion/support of Noah's Ark.

What will you do today to help the animals of Noah's Ark?

Adoption Event - A Sad Reality

On Saturday, December 4, 2006 SPCLA in Long Beach, California held an adoption event. One of the advertised goals was to show, and ideally find homes for some of the seized Noah's Ark pets. The Noah's Ark dogs and cats were recognizable by the yellow ribbon placed on their cage. Unfortunately, virtually all of the animals with such a ribbon were not in fact from Noah's Ark. Noah's Ark representatives were on hand to view all the prospective adoptees and found just a single dog that was properly designated.

Tragically, many animals continue to languish in cages at the Bureau of Animal Control. Many are in very poor health. For no apparent reason countless animals remain in these cages and are not made available for adoption.

We believe these animals are the victims of poor management. Is this harsh criticism or reality? Look at it this way, has the city of Long Beach been given glowing reviews and awards for it's Bureau of Animal Control like other major cities like San Francisco? If the city of Long Beach's Bureau of Animal Control was so brilliantly run, would there be entire organizations and web sites devoted to pointing out potential mismanagement?

We urge you to ask your own questions.

Contact the Mayor of Long Beach, Bob Foster at 562.570.6801 or send him a note at mayor@longbeach.gov