Thankful Thursday Blog Hop: HELP! Being a Voice for the Voiceless – Help Shut Down Best Friends Village in Granite Falls, NC – Caldwell County, NC

If you are just now seeing this, please check the UPDATE HERE.

voicelessWelcome to our Thankful Thursday Blog Hop where we share the things we are thankful for in our daily lives.  Today I’m thankful that there are so many of you that step up to be a voice for the voiceless.  I’m so thankful you’re out there doing everything from volunteer work at your local animal shelters, TNR, sharing on social media, the wonderful things you do are truly amazing.

Today, I will be most thankful if you can help a large group of cats and kittens who have no voice of their own.  They are in a dire situation and need immediate help.  If we all work together we can stop the Animal Abuse and Horrible Neglect going on at this place.  That place is Best Friends Village in Granite Falls, NC.

Picture this………  A remote small complex consisting of three trailers, a house and three cabins, all in disrepair, mostly the cabins.  You see the cabins were put together from bits and pieces of the trailers, old rotted wood, old linoleum, broken furniture, you get the picture.  Cats and kittens are housed here.  In cabin one we have the adult cats who have lived here their entire lives.  In cabin 2 we have the teenagers or in-between ages, and in cabin 3 the kittens.

The property is owned by a woman by the name of Olga Jensen (Phone: 828-729-0607), who lives in the Blowing Rock area, it is extra income for her.  At one time she was very active in the area when it came to kitties, but now as an elderly woman she doesn’t have the means or ability to care for them.  Two caretakers who live on this property are disabled people unable to bend or have the stamina to do any more than place food on rotted ledges, or windowsills or the floor in small piles.  Litter boxes, in areas which have them, are caked with 3/4 old urine and umpteen feces and new is poured over it.  Mostly the kitties just poop everywhere, which is where they urinate as well.  Water, when it is remembered, is topped off in old scummy receptacles.

Kittens, when they are taken in, are kept in teeny tiny cages in the house, porch or small kitten cabin.  There they can barely move as more are shoved into the cages.  Their eyes are caked with goo as are their noses from URI.  They are covered in fleas and a good portion of them die.  Two volunteer caretakers who are familiar with our blog have volunteered there for years going every day to help keep it “fairly” clean.  After going to animal control on this they are barred from the property and so the cats now have nothing.

Brother Wolf Rescue was kind enough to go there and take from all of the sick cats 15 of the sickest.  The buildings are infested as well with ringworm and all the people there are covered in it, not to mention the kitties.  Ringworm is a mold like fungi that is very hard to get rid of in cats and spreads like wildfire.

The buildings are full of it down into the small cracks and crevices, everywhere.  The smell of urine has caused the two women to have to go out for a breath of air before returning.  Cats come and cats die.  People just drop them off and have no idea what they are putting them into.  One of the residents job is to bury the dead, which is frequently.

These women have exhausted every avenue they know to shut this place down.  Please, the kitties need your voice. Shout it from the rooftops, rattle the cages, spread it virally everywhere and to everyone you can.  Every day these kitties wake up to this same horror and their only way out is the shovel of dirt thrown over them.

Local Animal Control is sitting on their duff and not taking action either.

This is a call to action.  Please call and email the following officials and let them know, politely, that this must stop, and now the whole world is watching their town and county.  They must do the right thing.  The property is located at 743 Dudley Shoals Road, Granite Falls, NC  28630.  Let’s take this viral, so please share the heck out of this.  If you have any direct personal contacts with someone in the ASPCA, HSUS, or PETA, please share with them as well.

Granite Falls, NC:

Barry Hayes, Mayor email: hayeschem@charter.net  Phone: 828-396-2225

Caldwell County, NC:

Alan Jones, Sheriff  828-758-2324

Caldwell County Animal Control  828-757-8625

Stan Kiser, County Manager  828-757-1300

Stan Kiser, County Manager  828-757-1300

CALDWELL COUNTY COMMISSIONERS  828-757-1300

Randy Church, Chairman EMAIL:  rchurch@caldwellcountync.org

Mike LaBrose, Vice Chairman EMAIL:   mlabrose@caldwellcountync.org

Jeff Branch, Commissioner  EMAIL:  jbranch@caldwellcountync.org

Donnie Potter, Commissioner  EMAIL:  dpotter@caldwellcountync.org

Robbie Wilkie, Commissioner:  rwilkie@caldwellcountync.org

I’m thankful that you have taken the time to consider whether or not you can help by making a phone call or sending an email and/or sharing this post.  After all, if you don’t help, who will?  Thank you!

What are you thankful for today?  Tell us in your comments and then join us for our Thankful Thursday Blog Hop, we would really like that.  Remember, adopt cats, we deserve it!!!!! More Forever Homes More Often! Purrrrr! Zip! Later!

Thankful Thursday Blog Hop


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Cathy Keisha
5 years ago

OMC! This makes me so angry! I’m going to share, share, share and make some phone calls and send some emails. You’d think it this day and age they’d know better. Thank you for bringing this travesty to our attention.

M. K. Clinton
5 years ago

That is incredibly sad. I shared on Twitter and will share on Facebook tomorrow.

Deziz World
5 years ago

We’re sharin’ and purrayin’ and callin’. We’re in tears. We have one such place here dat won’t allow mommy anywhere near da purropurrty cuz she repurrted them. Like this, nuffin’ was done. Hopefully dat won’t be da case here. Big hugs

Luv ya’

Dezi and Raena

Summer
5 years ago

What an awful, sick situation! I really hope that with the extra-added attention, this place gets shut down quickly.

Can’t Best Friends (the nonprofit in Utah) do something about it, since this group is using the same name as them… and smearing it by their very existence?

Carol Roe
5 years ago

We’ll share and write to help from afar.
https://carolmaewy.wordpress.com/?p=4439

Savannah's Paw Tracks
5 years ago

I’m on it Brian and Dad Terry. You have always helped me Paw It Forward and now I will help you until change happens for these cats.

Kitties Blue
5 years ago

Brian, this really, really hurts our hearts. Mom will send e-mails and share on our Sunday Selfies post, which is when we have the most visitors. Thanks for calling this to our attention. Is their a nearby television station we can contact as well as local newspapers. We’ll be back later to link up. We have to say that today we are thankful for you calling this to our attention. XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, angel Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth, Calista Jo and Cooper Murphy

Marjorie and The Dash Kitten Crew

Brian, we came to say sorry for not doing the TT this week and find ourselves with a mission!

I am sorry we are just home but we will do our best to email everyone.

meowmeowmans
5 years ago

That’s horrible, and makes us sad and mad at the same time. We’ll tweet about this right now!

Jeanne Foguth
5 years ago

That is just plain wrong! Worse, it seem like wrong things don’t get put right and/or people find a way to ‘spin’ things to make them seem politically correct…. I, for one, can not see any reason for such neglect to be tolerated and pray that justice will be done.

Athena
5 years ago

This is disgusting! Those poor babies.

I’ll share everywhere I can think of and I’ll send those emails. Even though I’m from the UK I’ll do everything in my power to help. This is just so wrong and cruel 🙁

Purrs xx
Athena and Marie

easyweimaraner
5 years ago

we will write mails and we will help to be the voice for those who need to be heard…

Mickey's Musings
5 years ago

What a heartbreaking situation.
Purrs Georgia,Julie and JJ

Angel Sammy and Teddy
5 years ago

This makes us SAD and MAD…….there’s no excuse for letting a dangerous and unhealthy and terribly WRONG situation like this to exist and continue. We are sending an email and we will hope and pray that the voice of REASON will prevail on the officials and they do what they are SUPPOSED to do instead of just letting this senseless agony continue. Thanks for telling us about this Brian…..we are THANKFUL for you.

Love, Teddy and Mom Pam

Little Binky and Granny

OMC this is horrible. Poor kitties 😀 Will share this on Fb and try to share it on IG, if I know how I can do that. We are thankful for all of YOU, you make the difference that these kitties deserve! Good Luck Pawkisses <3 <3 <3

Scylla, Fenris, Tuiren, YinYang & Chimera (ATCAD)

OMC our hearts are breaking for the poor kittens. We will certainly do whatever we can to help them. Paws crossed they get out of the horrible place soon. Please keep us updated.

Marg
5 years ago

Oh gosh, that is such a horrible situation. I sure will call some people and send some emails. Hope they can get that place shut down soon. Thanks for letting us know about this. You all have a great day.

Jan K
5 years ago

This is so heartbreaking! We have shared and will try to share some more and send some emails. This sounds like not just a serious health concern for the poor, poor kitties but for the humans that are there as well. How can they not do something about it??

Emma
5 years ago

Yikes! That sounds like a horrible place. It’s hard to imagine trying to live in those conditions.

Pat Hatt
5 years ago

Nasty indeed. Why they can’t get off their arse and shut it down is…there is no reason. What they are there for. Get the cats out of there and then burn the place to the ground. Sure sharing away at our bay.

Zoolatry
5 years ago

Terry: my daughter worked for several years at HSUS headquarters (media relations) here in metro DC. She is suggesting a call to report Neglect/Abuse to one of the numbers below. Normal process is they would channel information to state director (SC) for follow up. Do not know how long that would take, or what might eventually happen, but it may be worth making the call and providing all the details of what you have posted here today on this tragic situation. They (HSUS) are well known to conduct many rescue efforts.
202-452-1100 or 866-720-2676
Ann Adamus

Ellen Pilch
5 years ago

This is heart breaking. I will spread the word and pray for these poor kitties.

Da DB Boyz
5 years ago

We are spreading the word!! What a horrible situation for those kitties and cats!!!

The Menagerie Mom
5 years ago

This is devastating. Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention, so that we can all help spread the word for the sake of these poor kitties.

Maggie
5 years ago

I’m thankful today that you are shining a spotlight on this terrible situation.
We can make a difference together for these poor cats.
xxoo
Maggie

Basil
5 years ago

Oh no, that’s awful, we’re purraying that our furriends over the pond can help rehome these poor kitties and we’ll share your post on all our all social media Brian…

We’ve shared on all channels and we’ll be purraying extra hard fur those poor furbabies.

And today we’re extremely thankful fur fabulous peeps like mew!!!

Big hugs

Basil & Co xox

Beth
5 years ago

It sounds like a terrible place, but I have to admit, I’m concerned what will happen to the cats if they close it down. I would hate to see the cats taken into animal control and then be euthanized.

The OP Pack
The OP Pack
5 years ago

That is just horrible. It is hard to believe anyone would let this continue. We will do our part and have Mom makes some calls and send some emails. Thank you for the information.

Woos – Lightning, Misty, and Timber

Eastside Cats
5 years ago

Shared on FB & Twitter!

Timmy
5 years ago

That just goes to show you need to know when to stop and move on
Dad will fur sure send emails to those people
Thanks so much for visiting our Halloween Pawty. You cats and family are always welcome
Timmy, Dad Pete and Family

Madi and Mom
5 years ago

Oh no how very very embarrassing that this ‘place’ is in my state…..we are so very sorry there are some stupid humans in the world
Hugs madi your bfff

The Swiss Cats
5 years ago

That’s so sad. We hope many people let the officials know that this should stop. Purrs

da tabbies o trout towne
da tabbies o trout towne
5 years ago

I fear for these cats; in more ways than one. I’m not on any social media but will link back to this post from our sidebar and ask that these cats; and obviously the original caretakers get the help needed

how sad ~~ 🙁

Memories of Eric and Flynn

This is so sad and a horrendous situation for those poor cats. I have shared on FB and will send emails to the addresses you have posted.

Pam Greer
5 years ago

We will share and do everything else we can to help!

Kim Brooks
5 years ago

Hey Brian – Mom Kim here from The Ladiez of Beaglebratz Manor. I’m wondering if I have had a thought of working through a legal – maybe court system of shutting this place down and getting the care for those kitties that they so desperately need. When I first read the subject line of this post, I wondered if maybe they were somehow wrongly connected to Best Friends Animal Society in Utah – however after I began reading about the conditions of this Best Friends Village in NC, I knew it couldn’t be. HOWEVER, I am wondering if just maybe… Read more »

KB
KB
5 years ago

Brian, thank you for this call for help. I will send email to the mayor and commissioners. I will try to think of other good ways to share it. Thank you for being a voice for these poor animals.

Foley Monster, Pocket and River Song

Thank you for letting us know about this horrific situation. We will do what we can.

Marv's Mom
5 years ago

Brian and Family,
This is a bad situation. I will be sending letters and emails.
You guys ROCK!
Purrs and Live
Marv and Barb

Katie Isabella
Katie Isabella
5 years ago

This is horrible, heartbreaking and heinous. I will write and spread the word. xxxx

Basil
5 years ago

We’ve emailed everyone on that list, hope it helps!

Big hugs

Basil & Co xox

Sherri-Ellen T-D.
5 years ago

Unbelievable!! Why did the woman contact agencies to assist her before things got this out of hand?? Those poor animals….it is beyond understanding! I hope everyone in your area can get the word out & something is done to help the cats & the people for that matter!
Praying for a miracle!
Sherri-Ellen & Siddhartha Henry =^,.^=

Stephanie B
Stephanie B
5 years ago

I hope something comes of your blog post! I am so sorry to hear about these deplorable conditions.

Lisa Kirk
Lisa Kirk
5 years ago

Did anyone fix the adults, do you have a TRN program locally and can you call them in and have them mitigated with the owner and city, This wil stop the kitten population. The conditions are not uncommon when populations get out of control. Plus a group can help when new cats are dropped off. if this is hoarding, you have a problem and you will have to find someone the people at the park will trust