Kevin Villegas, a staff member of YourHub.com requested reader opinions on the case of
Shirley Bowman, so here goes.
I was at Shirley Bowman's home about five years ago. At that time, the place smelled like a dirty litterbox. It was not the overwhelming stench described by Animal Control Officers who responded to a neighbor's complaint. It just smelled like a litterbox that she couldn't bother to clean. I asked her how many cats she had. She said two. She told me they were in a downstairs bedroom so they wouldn't get out while her guests were coming and going. I had no reason to doubt her. I admit that I thought she was a slob, but I gave it no further thought. I guess that was the beginning.
The story broke on 9 News June 23rd. Over 100 cats were found in Shirley's garage with no water and forced to sleep in their own feces. Outside temperatures were approaching 100 degrees. She had told the neighbor that she would be in Maine for two weeks. A number of cats had already died. The rest were taken to the Aurora Animal Shelter. The smell was so bad that the Officers had to wear self contained respirators to enter the place. These deplorable conditions didn't happen in two weeks while she was vacationing in Maine. The cats are feral (wild). She confined them and allowed them to breed and breed and breed. You can tell by looking at them that they are all the same family. I have no idea whether the original two cats were strays that she took in or whether they were those two pets that never got neutered.
The neighbors that turned her in are now trying to portray her as a "sweet lady who wouldn't hurt a fly". She was just trying to help the cats. If Shirley Bowman really wanted to help those cats, she could have done it years ago by having them neutered when there were a few of them. There are people all over the Metro area who act as caretakers for colonies of feral cats. The Rocky Mountain Alley Cat Alliance will trap feral cats, sterilize and vaccinate them, and return them to their territory where a caretaker agrees to continue feeding them. They even distribute donated food to feral cat caretakers. Read about RMACA on their website
http://www.rmaca.com/.
Shirley Bowman is not an animal hoarder by the usual definition because she doesn't go out and round up stray cats and take them home. However, the end result is the same. In fact, in Bowman's case it's worse because the animals are not socialized. Here is an excellent website for readers who want to learn about hoarding of animals.
http://www.tufts.edu/vet/cfa/hoarding/
Her actions were extremely irresponsible because she allowed these cats to breed and obviously made no attempt to socialize the offspring. Animal Care is still evaluating the cats. There are some kittens that can probably be socialized. The adults are wild animals. If they can't be placed in barn homes, they will be destroyed. I urge readers who can use a barn cat to contact the Aurora Animal Shelter.
The following is an exerpt from the
Aurora Sentinel:
Aurora psychiatrist Marv Robbins said Bowman's behavior is strange but didn't think the circumstances surrounding were enough to offer a psychiatric diagnosis. "Maybe in her mind she was being a good citizen by taking care of those cats," said Robbins, medical director for the Aurora Mental Health Center. "That's probably what this is all about. She just had a lapse of judgment."
Shirley's "lapse of judgment" sure cost the City of Aurora a lot of money. Think of the wages and overtime that were paid to Animal Care Officers, Firefighters, and Police because of her mess. It overwhelmed our shelter and used up their supplies. Aurora Animal Care was in the process of helping the Rocky Mountain Alley Cat Alliance trap cats at Fitzsimons where a trailer park is being demolished. That had to be put on hold because of Shirley's cats. More cats will die.
I'm not qualified to say whether Shirley actually has a mental health issue but I can't help feeling that there is more to it than a lapse in judgment. This has been going on for years. It is my opinion that she is very likely to repeat the behavior.
A spokesperson for Aurora Animal Care stated that if Shirley is convicted of all the charges against her and fined the minimum amount, her fine would be more than $10,000. Will it happen? I'm sure she'll be convicted of something, but the charges will probably be reduced and she'll walk away with a slap on the wrist and probation. The penalties for her alleged crimes are well documented, but judges are not willing to impose them. Cruelty to animals is almost a non-crime in our society.