Things That Make You Say Hmmmmmmm

On March 29, a sealed deposition was supposed to take place at the Long Beach court house with Dr. Saleh, formerly the city and Noah's Ark's veterinarian. The District Attorney spent over an hour protesting Dr. Saleh's deposition, doing everything she could to keep him off the stand; and, a session that was supposed to be closed was open to the press (if you can call The Press Telegram "press"). Typical MO for this corrupt city!

Now, Dr. Saleh was the "state certified" veterinarian that Lt. Quigley claims told her to seize the animals. There's a little problem with the city's "evidence" here -- 1) Dr. Saleh was not present at the site on August 23, and 2) Lt. Quigley asked him about the smell of bleach, not urine, as being the reason to pull the animals out of NA's facility.

There's much more in the way of testimony this brave doctor and wonderful veterinarian can offer that sheds light on how out of control Long Beach Animal Control is -- but just based on these two little "problems" in the city's case -- you can well-imagine that they don't want the good doctor anywhere near the stand nor giving public testimony that might expose LBAC not only in court but in their beloved media.

Why did the city fight so hard to keep their former "star" witness to the alleged horrible conditions at Noah's Ark from testifying? Don't scratch your head too long --- It's because they know their lies will be exposed and that this man has so much more information that can become their undoing!

Not to worry -- Dr. Saleh will take the stand in the near future! We'll keep you posted!

March 30 Update

March 29 was the beginning of preliminary hearings for Alex and Gloria regarding Noah’s Ark. Basically the city presents the “evidence” they are basing their charges on and then the judge decides whether the case merits the time and expense of the court to move forward. Alex and Gloria, as represented by their attorney, have the right to cross examine any witness the city puts up.

The City’s Star Witness
Come See Her Next Dramatic Performance
(maybe there will be an interpretative dance added!)

The City of Long Beach only had one witness: Lt. Michelle S. Quigley. The DA was over an hour late (as usual – her time is SOOOO much more valuable than any of ours) and then other cases popped into the court in the middle of our hearing -- so we did not get to the point of cross examination in the preliminary and no decision has been made yet.

The case was continued to next Thursday – April 5 at 9:30 AM in room 24 at the courthouse. (Take a break from doing your tax returns and join us at the Long Beach Court House – then you can see what your tax dollars are funding!)

We anticipate that the judge will say that the case does merit a trial -- and we're a-okay with that! A jury trial will allow Lt. Quigley to show her real stripes and her working-with-the-media training – she’ll probably cry a whole bunch more especially if there are cameras there. Pnina Gerston and Glenn Pendergast will be called to testify and you’ll see what kind of truly IN-credible witnesses the City of Long Beach has chosen to use. Alex, Gloria and The Noah’s Ark Animal Justice Committee look forward to trial so you all can find out why we believe what an insane, incestuous, animal-hating, corrupt city Long Beach is.

Quigley Brought to Tears???
Yep – CROCODILE Tears!!!!
Quigley turned on the waterworks at the end of the March 29 hearing -- it was so rehearsed even the judge was confused by it. The cat she was describing on the witness stand was a feral (and we all know how much Quigley hates ferals!!!) that was so sick, it had been scheduled for euthanization by Noah’s Ark on the day of the raid. Long Beach Animal Control – who didn’t bother to ask about medical records when Quigley admitted Gloria was there the WHOLE time – decided to prolong this cat’s agony by keeping it alive for days longer. This poor feral cat was sick and dehydrated when it was dropped at Noah’s Ark. A state-licensed veterinarian consulted on the kitty’s condition; and Noah’s Ark & the vet knew it was cruel to keep this kitty in its misery. LBAC was not so kind. The story of LBAC and their vet deciding to shave this cat belies the fact that this cat was being kept alive without good cause and that shaving such a sick kitty was cruel beyond measure – but they did it anyway. This “story” was when Lt. Quigley “broke down” on the stand – and well she should, she should be ashamed of what she did on many levels.

The Press Telegram Keeps
The City Happy -- Again!
Of course, due to the way the process of a hearing works – the Press Telegram only printed what it could – Lt. Quigley’s twisted, taken-out-of-context, and often MADE UP testimony. Cross will be far more interesting. Too bad the Press Telegram didn’t bother to go back and read its own reporting on this case – the examples of her ever-changing story were many!

Animals in a Freezer –
The REAL Story
the Press Telegram Wouldn’t Report
The District Attorney also is trying to make a BIG deal about animals being in a commercial freezer wrapped in plastic bags. For any who do not know – and of course the Press Telegram couldn’t be bothered to do some investigative reporting...oh it’s sooooo hard! --- when animals pass, any facility (be it a rescue, a pet store, a veterinarian or LBAC) is required BY STATE LAW to store the animal in a freezer wrapped in plastic until it can be cremated and it’s remains returned OR picked up and sent to a rendering plant to become cat and dog kibble. When you have your pet put to sleep at a vet’s office – this is what your vet does. This is what Long Beach Animal Control does with the thousands of healthy, happy animals they kill every year. A company will then come to your facility to pick up the frozen remains from your commercial freezer (your little home refrigerator doesn’t really meet state code!) What no one OTHER than Long Beach Animal Control does is take them out of those bags and poses their frozen bodies on the pavement – that takes a special kind of perversion.

It’s SHOCKING – NOT!
Lt. Quigley also testified that Noah’s Ark had the audacity to put poop and pine shavings in their commercial dumpster along with the mop water they sucked up with a commercial shop-vac (and put into mop buckets) so it didn’t go into drains that drain to the ocean. Imagine!!!! Putting poop in a dumpster!!!! Those Noah’s Ark people are INSANE to actually dispose of poop in the proper manner. Good thing they took photos and have now presented them as evidence.

An Invitation
You can see just from what we’ve talked about here that this case is one that will make you shake your head in disbelief – the city’s conniving is baffling! Come join us for the next ‘installment” on April 5 at 9:30 AM! See it for yourself, because trust us – no one will ever believe you!

The Next Step!

Many people are asking, "What's up with the cases?!" So -- here's a quick update!

The case for the animals continues to work it's way through the red tape of city government. The charges against Alex and Gloria are finally coming to head -- with a court date on March 29 at the Long Beach Court House on the Third Floor. Please, please, please attend if you are able. We anticipate that other dissenting parties will try to fill the courtroom and force the Noah's Ark supporters to have sit outside the courtroom in the hallway. Court begins at 8:30 AM, so please try to be there early to secure a seat for yourself in the courtroom. The baliff will also ask that there be no cellphones on, no chewing gum and no hats in the courtroom.

This hearing is to determine if we go to trial; we anticipate that the case will be held over for trial. We anticipate that the Long Beach Press Telegram, which in our opinion has been shamefully lacking in their journalistic integrity and is being little more than just a mouthpiece for Lt. Quigley, will try to paint "being held over" as just proof positive that Alex and Gloria are guilty. This is not the truth!

In the face of so much pressure and such great expense, some people might just roll over and cave in at this point! Alex and Gloria continue to be very brave and are willing to take this case to a jury trial so that Long Beach Animal Control may be exposed for their abusive tactics with animals and people. It is worth the fight because it is time for the system to change!

You may, or may not, have seen some of the recent headlines in The Press Telegram -- "Alex is a hoarder" as accused by Jennifer Pryor and The Barbi Twins, which was met with many inquiries about how one could be defined as a hoarder when Alex and Gloria adopted out 2400 pets in one year alone. Lt. Quigley continues to protest that there is no way this could be done. In truth, it's done by the rescue community WORKING TOGETHER, a quality Noah's Ark was repeatedly praised for by other rescues of integrity. After the Press Telegram had egg on their face with that headline, they went on to claim in the next day's paper that Alex and Gloria were illegal breeders. Had we really cared what this irresponsible rag continues to mislead people with -- we could have presented the thousands of dollars of vet bills for spaying and neutering -- it's just not worth the effort since The Press Telegram rarely comes back to admit they are wrong or slanderous. So in the end, Alex and Gloria are not very good at hoarding (you need to hold on to the animals to be a hoarder), and they are also really bad at breeding (you need functional "hardware" for animals to breed) -- which is all to say -- Don't Believe Much You Read in The Long Beach Press Telegram!

In the last few court house "meetings", the prosecutor tried to say that Noah's Ark supporters are creating a climate of fear for the witnesses. After a discussion in chambers, the judge returned to say that he did not believe Alex or Gloria or those supportive of them were creating a climate of fear - however he did note that animal cases bring volatile emotions out of people. We have said from the beginning, this case is not a case that needs to be tried in the media -- it needs to be tried in a court of law. We have continued to support a non-violent approach and we know all of you do too. But in the meantime, we are posting the following as a formal statement.

We look forward to seeing you on the 29th!

Noah’s Ark Justice Committee does not engage in or condone any acts of vandalism, violence or verbal intimidation in any form. Our goals are to secure the release of the Noah’s Ark animals confiscated by Long Beach Animal Control, and to work through the legal system for justice for shelter volunteers arrested on bogus charges of animal cruelty.

Acts of violence or destruction of property only serve to harm any cause and ours is no exception. Our success will be achieved by working through the judicial system.