Sandra Cheek Norman (aka Sandra Cheek Norman-Aguero), 49, of 888 Underpass Road in Advance was charged with 18 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty and one count of felony animal cruelty, according to FOX8/WGHP, the news-gathering partner of the Winston-Salem Journal.
Norman is accused of operating a kitten mill that breeds exotic cats, including Highland lynx cats, Mohave bob cats, Alpine lynx cats, desert lynx cats and Savannah cats. Deputies said the Savannah cats and an African serval were among the breeds that were seized.
Savannah cats are a mix between a serval and a domestic cat. A desert lynx is a mix of domestic-cat breeds and a wild bobcat. A Mohave bob cat is a mix of feral and domestic cats. The hybrid breeds are larger than domestic cats.
The authorities also seized five dogs, a donkey and several goats, the television station reported.
Norman declined to comment Monday, saying she planned to talk with a lawyer. She is scheduled to appear in court Thursday.
Norman's home and yard were dirty, said Chief Deputy Jerry Hartman of the Davie County Sheriff Office. An odor of cat urine filled the house, and Advance firefighters used fans to ventilate the home, Hartman said.
"You couldn't breathe in there very well," he said.
Norman sold kittens through her website for $500 to $600 each, authorities said.
"It is clear from the facts that Ms. Norman is running a 'kitty mill' and not properly caring for all of her animals and has no regard for the welfare of her cats," investigators said in a search warrant.
The seized cats were taken to federally licensed cat farm in North Carolina, Hartman said. He declined to identify it or its location.
Norman has a permit to possess African serval cats and Savannah cats, which the county considers as exotic animals, said Bob DeWitt, a Davie County animal-cruelty investigator. She doesn't need a permit to breed cats or other animals on her property, DeWitt said.
Kim Alboum of Cary, the state director of the Humane Society of the U.S., accompanied the deputies to Norman's home. Alboum said she called the sheriff's office this month after someone who bought a kitten from Norman complained to Alboum about the animal's condition.
The cats and other animals were in poor shape, Alboum said, with many living in their own feces.
Many kittens had infected eyes and a herpes virus, Alboum said. Their cages were dirty and garbage and debris were inside and outside the house.
"They were just money machines," she said. "Exotic animals shouldn't be in someone's backyard."
(Winston-Salem Journal - December 20, 2011)
UPDATE: Incredibly, Norman still has her website online and actually posts updates about her case. She claims the toxic ammonia levels were from "dirty litter boxes" that hadn't been cleaned in "3 days". Her most recent update (dated 3-15-2012) says:
I went to court today and my Lawyer said the DA approached him with a deal for me that they would drop all the other charges if I plead Guilty to the Misdemeanor Cruelty due to the dirty litter boxes.
My Lawyer urged me to do this as he said that the trial would be in superior court where the HSUS would cram the court room with thier little groupies and try to sway the judge with public opinion (it was becoming more and more political, bringing the HSUS media attention they crave to gain more donations) and this being an election year and most likely scheduled just before the election also depending on the judge assigned to the case it was a good chance that the judge would be swayed against me to appease the crowd, even though I am innocent of the Felony starving an animal to death... I could have been convicted of it with a permanant record. That meant I would lose my right to bear arms and vote, in essence be a non-citizen.
For this reason I (plus my family pleading with me to take the deal) I did accept the deal. I was fined $2400 and given 3 years unsupervised Probation which is the maximum allowed in my state for the offence I plead guilty to which in essence was Dirty Litter boxes.
They did not even concider the fact my family was down with the Flu and the very reason th boxes had not been changed in 3 days but then once again they did want to make an example of me for others who think to own wildlife and breed animals.[In case you're wondering why the DA's office would be willing to drop all but one charge, I'm pretty sure it's because they wanted to get a resolution for the animals.
If the owner refuses to surrender ownership of the animals, the animals which have been seized are still the property of the Defendant and must be housed until the case has concluded. Not only does this put a huge burden on shelters/rescue groups, but it can take 3 years to go through a trial. Is it fair for the animals to be caged at a shelter for that long?
I think the DA's office did a good job. They got her to plead out, surrender ownership of all the animals, agree not to own animals for three years and pay restitution for the care provided to her seized animals.]
