Woman who slammed rescue operation got her facts wrong

To the Editor:

As per the letter last week (The NEWS, Dec. 15), it amazes me that she gathered so many troubling assumptions about my animal rescue, solely from what she views driving past at 55 miles per hour for 10 seconds per day.

The following refutes the woman's misrepresentations, and offers my opinion of her probable political motives:

1. "There is no room for the dogs to exercise." No, there is plenty of room for my dogs to move around. They even back-dive into their fresh straw. Plus, EVERYDAY, the dogs and I enjoy a leash-free run all over my acreage until they're tired. Then, they voluntarily go back into their pen to chomp on fresh bones.

2. "I never see anyone there." She probably wouldn't within her 10-second viewing period, especially if we have different schedules.

3. "I don't even know if they have straw for their beds." Unless she's blind, and in this case she shouldn't be driving, straw has always been visible from the highway she travels.

4. "They go without human contact." No, everyday, my friends witness kisses, hugs, scratches, conversation and soup-bone distribution; my Seaman's IGA bone bill is extravagant. 

5. "The dogs were not confined in any manner." There have always been fenced-in areas on my property for the dogs. There have been a few escape incidents, however.

6. "The woman closed up shop and the dogs disappeared." No, I took the dogs to West Virginia, when I went there to care for my ailing mother.

7. "This woman is not an animal rescuer." On the contrary, within the past two weeks, I rescued sibling cats, and found them a home together, and I re-homed a beagle mix to a great place on Crabtree Road. I've rescued animals for 20 years from situations where they would otherwise be left for dead. Further, none of my animals have EVER been euthanized to make room for more.

What casts a shadow on this woman's credibility is that she's supposedly known of this alleged cruelty for months, and did nothing. Why hasn't she stopped during her 2.5-second drive-bys to inspect, or inquire of me? She claims she doesn't know how to get a hold of me. Whatever. The woman is a school administrator, so she has Web skills. I'm all over the Internet, and can be easily found.

I suspect this woman is after me for reasons not related to my animal rescue. I've never known her prior to her letter, but upon reviewing her Facebook page, I observed numerous cozy photos of her with the Obamas and Jay Rockefeller.

I'm a Ron Paul supporter, and I've displayed Ron Paul signs on my property in the past. A well-documented tactic of the Obama and Rockefeller disinformation agents is to smear Ron Paul and his supporters because we're diligent at disseminating these two cretins' hypocrisies, namely, shunning war and monopoly, but voting for them anyway. Maybe this woman is practicing fabrication techniques in order to apply for a job with the Obama administration. Or, per her chummy photos, maybe she already secretly has one. Or, simply, maybe her observation skills are seriously flawed.

Terri Ann Smith
Shade