Along this road of advocacy, various people, including my husband have worried about the Director of the Refuge calling the police on me. And frankly I wasn't worried...until it happened. Last Sunday, a lovely young female RCMP officer arrived at our door saying that the Director had accused me of stealing a bird from the Refuge. Having arrived at the door with Bertie on my shoulder, I figured the best approach would be to invite her in and keep Bertie with me so that the officer could assess her relationship to us herself, while we chatted. I agreed that I had removed my bird, Bertie, from the Refuge and told her why. However, because the Director had waited two months to lay this complaint, I couldn't show the officer the hole in Bertie's chest that prompted me to remove her from the Refuge; it was almost completely healed. The officer seemed most concerned about how she could tell who actually owned Bertie. So, I explained:
- how we had come to leave our girls, Bertie and Chris at the Refuge to begin with.
- that we had given the Director a cheque for $1000. to cover their care for one year. Later we had sent her another $1000. for a second year.
- that I was so emotionally distraught the day that we left the girls at the Refuge, if the Director asked me to sign a surrender form, I didn't hear her and I certainly didn't offer to do so.
- that I'd owned Bertie since 1999 and had the name of the young man I got her from as well as the names and contact information of people in Ontario who knew me and knew Bertie.
- that the Director has no documentation to prove that she owns Bertie.
- that the RCMP could expect to receive more complaints from the Director and why.
When the officer left some time later, she said that she didn't feel that the situation required police involvement and that she would be informing the Director likewise. That's when my heart stopped pounding through my chest. [smile]
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