LUZERNE, Pa. — Late Tuesday night, Marge Bart, the president of Blue Chip Animal Refuge near Dallas, got a call from a neighbor
"She said, 'Margie, my son just drove home, and behind him was an SUV, and they dumped out crates of cats and an old dog. What should I do?' I said, 'Well, let's gather them up,'" said Bart.
"When this happened, we all had to get out of bed and come here and try to get everything set up close to midnight, so it was a tiring task, and then on top of our normal things we do every single day," said Emma Ripka, a worker with Blue Chip.
The cats and the dog were dumped on Dixon Lane, which borders the shelter property. Volunteers were able to catch 17 cats and the dog. Traps can be seen in the woods for others still out there.
"There is definitely more. Last night, we thought maybe 20. Based on what was seen this morning with people driving around, we might be looking at 30, but we have no idea, and there is the risk of some of them being pregnant," said Ripka.
Bart says each cat will cost the shelter $300 to $400 minimum to get checked out by a vet.
"Our vets give us a discount, and that is if the cat is healthy. We do testing, spay and neuter; that is the bottom line. But still, for every healthy cat we get, we lose $200. So 1,000 cats per year, you could do the math," said Bart.
"The one cat has horrendous ears, so if that does require surgery. We are talking thousands of dollars just for that cat alone, so we are looking at a very high medical bill. At this point, I honestly can't even put a number on it," said Ripka.
Bart tells Newswatch 16 that the shelter is already at capacity with 100 cats. She says they continue to deal with a vicious cycle of irresponsible pet ownership.
"It's a lifetime commitment. It is not just a gumball out of the machine you chew up and get rid of it," said Bart.
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