I had closed my Optical Store and started working for an optical management company, which sent me to Towson Maryland for 6 weeks to open a new store location. 

I was home only on Sundays and had absolutely no contact with Jay Beale.  I had volunteers check the birds and continue the work while I was away.  Volunteers were suspicious that Jay was not caring for the birds as he agreed.  The water was old and food was low.  Volunteers had to keep up and continually replace water and food.  Booby traps such as raking or string were draped over doors and feeding bins to see if it had been disturbed by Jay. 

The fact was Jay was only doing his promised job every 2-3 days.  When I finished from Towson I contacted Jay from my cell phone on the way to the bird property.  I told him the findings and I was on my way to pick up the key and any supplies he had and to leave them on the front step of the house.  ETA was 10 minutes.  I had done this quickly so that the key could not be duplicated and have any possibility of intentionally injuring any birds.  I suspected him not of just being irresponsible but having a bad temper as I had witnessed him screaming at his outside dogs on the property constantly.  This is why I had volunteers double check the caging area while I was away.

Other problems developed such as Jay continually turning off the water to the caging area.  It was an ongoing battle.  I constantly had to go to the house’s outside faucet and turn it back on until one day he turned it off from inside the house.  I phoned the landlord and he had Jay turn it on again.  Jay’s excuse was that it was cold outside, and the water could freeze.  It was 75 degrees outside, no need to turn off the water due to cold.

I continued not having contact with Jay, and only noticed his vehicle at the house so I would know when he was home to avoid him.  Later on I learned Jay had been helping Beacon Animal Rescue care for some animals.  Once in particular was a cat.  Jay deliberately avoiding allowing one of the girls from the rescue to collect this cat.  He would leave the house when she was to come get the cat, and leave doors locked when he said he would leave them open for her to retrieve the cat.  I later learned that he starved the cat to death by locking it in a room and not giving it food and water.  SPCA brought him up on animal cruelty charges as he admitted to the SPCA that he starved it, and that he called NJ State Fish & Game on myself and the landlord about the birds.

Technorati Tags: alliance, animals, ara, fish and game, history, New Jersey, NJ, non-profit, rehabilitators, St. Francis Avian, story, wildlife

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