I read with astonishment the Monday article in The Herald, “Owner of 111 cats in Snohomish charged with animal cruelty.” As animal control officers approached, the stench was right under their noses. The articles says, “Over months, officers advised Kathryn St. Clare that she had too many cats. They instructed her to take some of the animals to shelters and get proper care for the ones she kept, according to court papers. St. Clare, 55, reportedly told the officers she was homeless and living out of her pickup truck.”
It was the headline that caught my eye as a pet owner. I’d just left our cat outdoors overnight on our patio and felt badly. One hundred eleven cats! But what’s also under my nose doesn’t escape me … she told officers she was homeless. Nothing in this report addresses that or any remedy thereto during or after her admission. And this was last July, and now it’s March, and she is to be charged for animal cruelty.
Do you understand what I am saying here? She is homeless, likely still. One cat or 111, someone homeless is not getting even a whiff of help from what I read. But it’s worse. Our remedy for homeless “law breakers” is jail. It’s right under our noses and we can’t get a whiff of what’s really at stake. This woman likely needs mental health care, and a roof over her bed. Not jail. Come on, Snohomish County. We have a plan and commitment to end homelessness. Here she is, under our noses. Keep her out of jail, suspend her sentence, get her help, and out of homelessness.
The Rev. Bill Kirlin-Hackett
Director, The Interfaith Task Force on Homelessness
Lynnwood
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