Finding new homes for animals at a rescue operation being evicted from property owned by Coosawattee River Resort has become a daily task for Gilmer County Animal Control.
As the result of a recent eviction hearing, Build an Ark Animal Rescue, run by Susan Littlejohn, was given 10 days to find animal control-approved placement for animals still on the property, noted Daniel Laukka, Gilmer Animal Control director.
“(We’re) out there every day. If I’m not out there, my assistant director is,” Laukka said. “By day 11, animals still on the property will become Coosawattee’s property. They worked that out in front of the judge. We’re working in this 10-day period to find placement for them.”
Last week, animal control brought 10 additional cruelty charges against Littlejohn, who already faced four of the same type of charge filed earlier this year.
“There was some noticeable decline in a few of the bigger animals. Per a vet’s assessment, the animals that were underweight I cited for cruelty,” Laukka said.
An alpaca, two horses and a mule were seized and removed from the property that Friday, Laukka noted. Other animals from whom the charges stemmed remained there, he confirmed.
“They weren’t in dire need like the (ones) that were seized. The vet really has to approve seizures at this level, and having the vet reinforce that is very important,” Laukka said. “Just like two-and-a-half months ago, when animals were removed from the property with the vet’s approval, we did the same thing here.”
Laukka said there are four registered animal rescue operations willing to take in animals from Build An Ark as the property is evacuated.
“The four are all in good contact with each other, and every one of them is invested, at this point, in the welfare of the animals,” he added.
One of those rescues is TMMA Farms and Sanctuary, located in Trion, Ga., about 90 minutes from Ellijay. They took in an alpaca and two horses that were seized last week, confirmed Maryann Marsh, who runs TMMA with husband, Marty Orr.
“We called it their freedom ride,” said Marsh.
The TMMA farm previously took in some sheep and a goat from Build an Ark that were relinquished months ago, Marsh confirmed. Those animals, as well as the recently seized horses and alpaca, all have multiple problems that are now being addressed, she noted.
“We are giving them proper care because they are senior horses, (who) need a whole different set of care. Natalie, the mare, has an abscess. She barely could walk. Happy, the white horse, has cancer in his eye. We are looking into possible surgery in the future. We’re hoping to save his eye and (have) the cancer taken out,” she added.
Before the relocation, Clementine, a 15-year-old alpaca, had left her feet and couldn’t get back up, Marsh said. Being down too long could lead to an alpaca dying, she noted.
“We’ve been doing physical therapy six times a day. I hold her up, and my husband moves those legs to get the muscles working again,” Marsh said. “Alpacas are generally very stoic animals, so when they go down it’s very, very fast. To have her fight like this is telling us she has the will to live and is not giving up. Our philosophy here is if they want to fight, we will fight with them.”
Littlejohn is scheduled to appear in court on the first four animal cruelty charges in May. She will have to be arraigned on the 10 additional charges before they are heard in court, Laukka noted.
All 14 counts are county ordinance violations, which qualify as misdemeanors. For animal cruelty to be a felony, it has to be an aggravated charge, which implies malicious physical harm has occurred.
“Once the animals are off the property, she’ll have to go to court on the charges,” Laukka said. “The animals are going to be taken care of no matter what, and we are on top of that. We are close to having a resolution.”
Marsh said she and representatives from other licensed animal rescues, including Waddle On Inn, a Fannin County waterfowl rescue, are willing to return to Ellijay and help relocate more of the remaining animals.
“I’m hoping (it will be) in the extremely near future. We’re working closely with the designated rescue facilities that are licensed 501(c)(3)s like ourselves. We have trucks and trailers waiting,” she said.