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NJ animal rescue article



 
 
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  #1  
Old September 18th 05, 06:10 PM
Norm
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Posts: n/a
Default NJ animal rescue article

It took several tries to get the URL to work, article is below though.
Norm

http://www.bergenrecord.com/page.php...cWVlRU V5eTM=

Keeping tabs on tabbies
Sunday, September 18, 2005

By ELAINE D'AURIZIO
STAFF WRITER

The cubicle in Jessica Gotthold's West Paterson office is decorated with
a curious mixture of mementos from law enforcement, firefighting ... and
felines.

It has fire department arm patches, a photo of a Port Authority police
officer - a friend who perished on 9/11 - cat calendars, kitty cartoons
and a prayer to St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.

Gotthold, who lives in Mahwah, is at her computer, closing an arson case
she investigated as an agent for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives. She has investigated big cases. The World Trade
Center bombing in 1993 and the Unabomber killing of Thomas Mosser in his
North Caldwell home are two. She has helped crack million-dollar arson
scams and abortion-clinic bombings and broken up interstate explosives
rings.

Smart and courageous (she went through debris at Fresh Kills on Staten
Island after 9/11 looking for items from the bureau's World Trade Center
office), she has seen horrific sights on the job.

She also is a determined animal advocate.

Two years ago, Gotthold founded the National Foundation for Animal
Rescue, a non-profit that tries to prevent cruelty to animals by raising
awareness and slowing down the population explosion of homeless animals.

Her dedication to her work and her commitment to animals are borne of
the same compassion.

"I'm a rescuer and a justice seeker of people and animals," she said.
"Animals should have more rights than they do. We decide everything for
them, whether they live or die. Since they can't speak for themselves,
we have to speak for them."

Says Rich Vera, a financial investigator for the bureau and a friend:
"She's really committed to what she believes in: the rights and welfare
of animals. It's a natural extension of what she does every day. She
protects people. She takes that extra step to include animals."

As a federal agent, Gotthold gets involved with fires connected with
interstate or foreign commerce. She also is a certified fire
investigator, able to testify about the origin and cause of a fire.

So it's not unusual for law enforcers who know Gotthold to call her when
they need help with animals.

Last July, for example, Union City police called Gotthold to assist them
at the apartment of a woman who had been raped and killed - and had 10
cats badly in need of medical care and homes.

Dr. Steven Hodes, who owns the Hodes Veterinary Group in Mine Hill,
remembers treating and neutering the animals.

"She has a great big heart," he said of Gotthold. "Her commitment is
probably unsurpassed. She's appreciative of our efforts. We're helping
her do what her heart is directing her to do."

The foundation assisted a woman with terminal cancer by buying a seat on
a plane so her two cats could fly from Newark to a new home in Phoenix.
Foundation members rescued three baby skunks from a woman who could get
no one to respond to her, and they rescued a cat that had been stuck in
a tree for days.

"We've done some unusual rescues," Gotthold said. "I get calls every day
about one animal crisis or another."

Gotthold also traps feral cats. She gets the animals medical attention,
neutering or spaying, and their shots. She tries to find homes for them.
Some are fostered out to foundation volunteers.

But it's hard.

"There are just not enough people to take these animals," Gotthold said.
"The toughest thing for me to accept is knowing that I can't help
everybody."

There wouldn't be any feral cats if it wasn't for human
irresponsibility, she said.

"We constantly have animals who are discarded because they don't fit
into the owner's lifestyle anymore or they become inconvenient," she
said, adding that people who neglect or abuse animals should be
punished. (She does what she can to make that happen.)

Gotthold advocates creation of a New Jersey animal task force and a
federally funded program for neutering, spaying and protecting animals.

Her love of animals and commitment to her job led Gotthold to her
husband, Jeff Rudden, a Newark fire captain. Of like heart, he has
rescued people and animals from fires.

Gotthold met her future husband while investigating a house fire in
which a firefighter had been electrocuted and a woman killed.

She fell in love after Rudden helped her rescue two goats destined to
die in a slaughterhouse next to the firehouse.

The day after the fire, when she went back to pick up the goats, Rudden
was pulling on the billy goat to get him out.

"That was it, I fell for him," she said. "The animal magnetism was
twofold."

The goats, Romeo and Juliet, got a home in Saddle River.

The love for animals started early for Gotthold, whose parents had cats.

"I shared my baby food with them," she said. "I was an only child and
they were my siblings."

By 7, she was raising money to save baby fur seals.

"I'm compelled to help," said Gotthold, who has two dogs and several
cats.

Edward Parzygnat, property manager of the complex where Gotthold works,
tells a story about a cat colony in a Clifton building he manages.

"Jessica went down into a fuel-tank pit at the complex, where a mother
cat had relocated a litter, and removed the kittens," he said.

"She came back that evening to trap the mother and was successful. She
got them all their shots, had tests taken on them and had the mother
spayed."

E-mail:
* * *

Fast facts

# It is estimated that there are as many as 100 million feral cats in
the United States today.

# Animals that are spayed or neutered are less likely to roam and get
lost, less likely to fight, better behaved and more loving.

# According to the Humane Society of the United States, one unneutered
male cat and one unspayed female cat and their successive offspring will
produce more than 80 million cats in 10 years.

# Anyone wishing to contact the National Foundation for Animal Rescue
for adoption, to volunteer or to make a contribution can call toll-free
at (877) 554-8787. You can visit its Web site at nffar.org.
  #2  
Old September 18th 05, 07:31 PM
Cheryl
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Sun 18 Sep 2005 01:10:20p, Norm wrote in
rec.pets.cats.anecdotes ):

It took several tries to get the URL to work, article is below
though. Norm

http://www.bergenrecord.com/page.php...jczN2Y3dnFlZUV
FeXk1OCZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Njc3MzU0NiZ5cmlyeTdmN zE3Zjd2cWVlRUV5
eTM=

Keeping tabs on tabbies
Sunday, September 18, 2005

snip

She's an angel of the truest sense! Thanks for sharing this, Norm.


Fast facts

# It is estimated that there are as many as 100 million feral
cats in the United States today.

# Animals that are spayed or neutered are less likely to roam
and get lost, less likely to fight, better behaved and more
loving.

# According to the Humane Society of the United States, one
unneutered male cat and one unspayed female cat and their
successive offspring will produce more than 80 million cats in
10 years.

This stat never ceases to amaze me. Just incomprehensible, though
I know it's true!


# Anyone wishing to contact the National Foundation for Animal
Rescue for adoption, to volunteer or to make a contribution can
call toll-free at (877) 554-8787. You can visit its Web site at
nffar.org.




--
Cheryl
  #3  
Old September 19th 05, 12:00 PM
Norm
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Cheryl wrote:

She's an angel of the truest sense! Thanks for sharing this, Norm.


You're entirely welcome, glad to provide some feel-good when so many
animals are in need.

# Anyone wishing to contact the National Foundation for Animal
Rescue for adoption, to volunteer or to make a contribution can
call toll-free at (877) 554-8787. You can visit its Web site at
nffar.org.


--
"In 2005, the refining margin...has exceeded $20 per barrel, far above
the long-term average of $6. That has meant record profits for oil
companies and refiners" NYT 2005/09/11
 




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