Emotional Intelligence Home Page
Daniel Goleman, Tara Bennett-Goleman, Juliana Bennett-Blue, p.3
Page one - Introduction to this case and emails from site visitors
Page two - Copies of news articles
Articles on this page:
Animal Asylum
By Anne Pyburn
Fifty miles northwest of Albany, Julia Bennett-Blue called her
Gloversville home Blue Haven Farm. But the scene discovered by
authorities responding to a report of dogs’ devouring a live
llama on January 11 would hardly qualify as a haven of any hue.
Over 100 animals have since been removed from the property;
according to the Gloversville Leader-Herald, some 30 cats and a
dog named Fred remain.
Charges of animal cruelty are being pressed against Bennett-Blue,
as local authorities from police agencies, the Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the health and building
departments seek to sort out the issues involved. But to Kathy
Stevens, director of the Catskill Animal Sanctuary, it’s a
sadly familiar story. “This woman has been arrested seven
times in Fulton County alone,” says Stevens. “Before
that, in the 1970s, she was on the cover of Newsday when they
raided her New York apartment…. There should be some way to
treat animal hoarding and prevent re-accumulation—but
hoarding is an addiction. These are people who say they love
animals, but when you look at the misery they foster, you have to
wonder about their understanding of love.”
Animal hoarding as a distinct phenomenon has been recognized by
professionals for some time, but is just beginning to be
understood. According to experts at the Hoarding of Animals
Research Consortium of Tufts University’s veterinary school,
it used to be called “collecting”, but that term was
dropped because too often it has positive connotations.
There’s nothing positive about hoarding, defined by the harc
as a case in which someone accumulates a large number of animals,
fails to provide minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation, and
veterinary care, fails to act on the deteriorating condition of
the animals (including disease, starvation, and even death) or
the environment (severely overcrowded and unsanitary conditions),
and fails to act on or recognize the negative impact of the
collection on their own health and well-being.
harc studies indicate that hoarders are often older women,
fearful of much contact with humans and perhaps experiencing the
early stages of dementia or a form of obsessive-compulsive
disorder. But Pat Volusik of the New York State Humane
Association says that not all cases she’s seen fit the
stereotype. “It’s different varieties of people, not
just little old ladies,” she says. “The common thread
is that they just have no conception of the condition of the
animals. They don’t see the pain and suffering.”
Volusik points to the case of Justin McCarthy, an Ellenville-area
man prosecuted for animal cruelty in the 1990s. “McCarthyhad
money, he got lots of donations, he got lots of good
publicity—he was tagged as ‘St. Francis of the
Catskills’ by national media,” she says. “He had
friends in high places. When the rescuers went in, they found
animals cannibalizing each other.”
Volusik sees a correlation between increased instances of
hoarding—of which about 2,000 are uncovered nationally each
year—and the overcrowding of legitimate animal shelters;
when there’s no room at the inn, she says, folks looking to
get rid of livestock can close their eyes to shady circumstances.
“Desperate people do desperate things,” she says.
“It’s a throwaway society, and when pets get in the way
and they’re past the cute and cuddly stage…. Rescuers
sometimes find animal carriers unopened at hoarding places, with
the note still on them, ‘Please take care of Fifi,’ and
all that’s inside is a corpse.”
Fortunately for the 40 llamas, horses, miniature horses, and
donkeys recovered from Blue Haven Farm, the Catskill Animal
Sanctuary was ready and willing to take them in. Snuggled into a
glen off Old Stage Road on the Saugerties/Ulster line, the
Sanctuary is a bustling, friendly place on a Saturday afternoon,
as volunteers go about the thousand tasks of tending their
charges. Volunteer Karen Lockrow is helping staffer Lorraine
Roscino convince a goose to swallow a pill. Her injured wing is
healing nicely. “She arrived with a horse, five other geese,
and some chickens,” says Lockrow.
Lockrow, a commercial insurance agent, used to raise, train, and
show horses. “I never thought I’d be coming here,
holding ducks and playing with pigs,” she says. “But
this place is the greatest. Animals are the most forgiving
creatures on the planet—some of these have been through hell
and back ten times, and they bounce back, give their hearts
again…. Even the ones that seem aggressive, it’s not
meanness, it’s fear.”
I am introduced to a sampling of large, friendly critters; some
of the Blue Haven refugees are up the hill in quieter pastures,
but I meet mini-horses and donkeys, llamas, and a variety of
full-sized horses. Only days away from their purgatory,
they’re nonetheless responsive and friendly, offering velvet
noses and liquid eyes, warm breath in the chill, fragrant air of
the clean barn.
The barn aisle is dominated by a massive sheep, sprawled at his
ease. Signs everywhere warn visitors not to give the animals
treats, on pain of being fed to Petunia the pig—but Rambo,
as the ram is known, looks like he’s snagged a few somewhere
along the line. Lying down, he resembles a round
sheepskin-covered hassock with elegant, curvaceous horns. I stop
to run my fingers through his wool. He practically purrs at me.
“Rambo and seventeen others were our first major cruelty
case,” recalls Kathy Stevens in a phone interview.
“They’d all been living in one stall, and one of them
was a 2,500 pound steer. They all got adopted except for Rambo.
He was so angry, very violent. He used to throw us across the
stall with his horns. But gradually he softened and became who he
was meant to be. He greets every new animal, sleeps outside their
stall the first night.”
As a haven for large domestic animals, the Catskill Animal
Sanctuary is a rare phenomenon. Volusik says the nearest one of
any size is in Ithaca. The work involved is enormous, of course,
and though publicity surrounding the recently rescued
livestock—which nearly doubled the head count—has
brought in some fresh volunteer energy, more is always needed,
especially during the week. Money, too, is perpetually in short
supply—the veterinary expenses for the goose with the
injured wing alone are $1,300—as is land. The sanctuary
currently occupies 70 acres; 30 acres adjacent are for sale.
Extra land would be helpful, but not before more immediate needs,
like a decent four-wheel-drive tractor, are satisfied.
“I never want to get bigger than 100 animals, because I want
us to always know them individually—their names, their
medical needs, their quirks,” says Stevens. “So we heal
them and place them in good homes. We’re very picky….
Our mission is twofold: to save as many truly needy animals as we
can, and to promote compassionate living overall, educating
people about how institutionalized cruelty impacts
everything—animals, humans, the entire planet.”
Animal hoarding is one of those problems that the system
doesn’t seem too well equipped to handle, says Volusik.
“There are laws, but they’re not in the penal
code—they’re in the Agriculture and Markets code; most
police don’t even know where to look. Often these people get
a lot of public sympathy. They always have a story—‘It
wasn’t this bad, it was fine, and then I got sick,’ or
whatever. Judges slap them on the wrist. And in many, many cases
they’re repeat offenders. It would be nice if the law were
enhanced, so that at some point people with this disorder were no
longer permitted to own more animals.”
For more information on the Catskill Animal Sanctuary, visit
www.casanctuary.org, or call (845) 336-8447. The Sanctuary is
open to the public on Saturdays from 10am to 3pm.
Haven or Hell? 5/20/04 (From
Juliana
Bennett-Blue started "Blue Haven Farm" as a haven for
unwanted animals. But those who've been inside say it's no haven.
It's more like hell. And they say, under the law, there's no away
to stop her from creating that hell over and over again. We want
to warn you...the exclusive photos we're about to show you are
graphic and could be upsetting:
It was a sight that brought witnesses to tears — and police
to Blue Haven Farm for a fourth time this January. Two starving
dogs eating a llama alive.
Sharon Hayes/Fulton County SPCA: "I saw the two dogs ripping
flesh from the lama and running away from it."
Sharon Hayes of the Fulton County SPCA was one of the first to
arrive at 172 Morrow Road in Perth.
Sharon Hayes/Fulton County SPCA: "There were other animals
that were dead. There were animals that were dying."
Hayes rescued some here in 1989. Again in 1990...and a third time
four years later.
Sharon Hayes: "In 94 I had kittens die in my hand."
Sound of sheep from home video
This is video of Juliana Bennett-Blue's house back then...
Sharon showing inside of barrel: "Burning kitten and a
burning chicken."
This was the only horned goat here..but this is all rescue
workers could find of him. And it was worse by 2004...buckets of
human waste amid decomposing animals...plus sheep, llama, and
kitten remains. A donkey's ear fell off from frostbite. And
horses hooves were so overgrown they could hardly walk. Neighbors
saw it all.
Bill Papura/Neighbor: "It was heartbreaking....absolutely
heartbreaking."
Carol Jones/Neighbor: "It is something that no one should
have to endure."
We found Bennett-Blue staying at another neighbor's...
Juliana Bennett-Blue/Perth: "My son died and I was in a
terrible depression."
We asked her about one picture that's too graphic to show
you...of a dog that hung itself and was left there to rot. Her
excuse?
Juliana Bennett-Blue: "I couldn't deal with it."
But, even though Bennett-Blue's record stretches back to 1977
when she was charged with animal cruelty on Long Island, she
faces the same single misdemeanor charge now.
Juliana Bennett-Blue: "They got me for a dog needing a
haircut. What else can I say?"
This is the back end of that Old English Sheepdog...so matted,
feces got caught in his fur and he could not relieve himself.
Patrick weighed 30 pounds once shaved. His ideal weight is 65.
Sharon Hayes: "A person could be arrested for the same
violation if they failed to feed their dog."
See...even if Bennett-Blue was charged and convicted of 100
counts of animal cruelty...under New York State Law...her
punishment would run concurrently...so she'd spend a year in jail
at most. And if you think Buster's Law might apply here...think
again — that only works in intentional abuse cases.
Louise Sira/Fulton County D.A.: "We really need something
between neglect and Buster's Law and that's what prosecutors
don't have."
Fulton County D-A Louise Sira has reached out to Bennett-Blue's
daughter Tara Bennett-Goleman, a psychotherapist, and New York
Times Best Selling author. And her son-in-law...psychologist
Daniel Goleman, seen here with the Dali Lama. Sira says neither
will step in to help.
Assemblyman Paul Tonko says the legislature needs to help...and
is working on proposing a law that will target animal hoarders.
Assemblyman Paul Tonko/(D) Amsterdam: "Something has to be
done...We will look at what other states have done...I think
Illinois is a state that has taken action."
Juliana Bennett-Blue: "These were taken in the fall."
As for Bennett-Blue, she talked to us a second time, to show us
pictures of healthy animals, call the SPCA workers liars, and
proclaim her innocence.
Amy: "Do you have any regrets about what happened at all?
Juliana Bennett-Blue: "Regrets about what? About what?"
We asked Bennett-Blue if she planned to have animals again and
she said she hadn't decided yet. Her trial is scheduled for July
— and the D-A says she will seek jail time.
© 2004, WRGB-TV6, WRGB Online -- http://www.wrgb.com/
(From http://www.wrgb.com/ "i team investigates")