I Married Howard Gene Baskin

I met Howie on Nov. 1, 2002 and we were engaged on the beach of Anna Marie Island on Nov. 1, 2003 and married on that same beach Nov. 1, 2004.  Howie’s friend got his notary’s license in order to perform the wedding.  Jamie’s boyfriend, Daniel Capiro played the guitar and Jamie gave me away.  As you can tell from the photos, it wasn’t your typical wedding.  Howie insisted that we all precede him to the beach.  In the distance I saw a caveman coming our way and from that very distinct walk said, “I think that’s Howie!”

 

He wanted to so something memorable and he really succeeded.  He says it’s a testament to my good nature that I wasn’t mad that he’d do something so silly.  I love him all the more for it.   He did put a coat over his caveman dress for the actual ceremony.  He wanted us to write up vows that would be like a constitution for how we would deal with each other.  These were mine to him. 

 

Proposed Wedding Vows

 

I promise to always treat you with love and respect.

I promise to always yield to your desires to the extent that I can without sacrificing my faith or the well being of the cats in my charge.

I promise to be loyal and faithful to you.

I promise to take care of my body for your pleasure.

I promise to cherish and care for you long after you have forgotten my name.

I promise to always yield to your will… as long as it does not conflict with mine.

I promise to eliminate the possibility of death by poisoning by NOT surprising you with a home cooked meal.

I promise to never discharge a weapon in your direction unless you are being strangled by an anaconda.

I promise to leave ALL my cats to you when I die.

I promise that if the exotic cat issues are cured within our lifetime that I won’t start bringing home stray dogs, elephants or homeless WWII vets.

I promise to never join a nude PeTA protest without adequately cloaking my identity.

I promise to always refer to you as my Last husband and not my Latest husband; you can introduce me as “her majesty”.

I promise that you will never have to deal with more than one of my personalities at a time…Whoa! Who said that?... You can’t go making promises like that without a vote… Some of us shouldn’t be allowed to vote…Hey, I resemble that remark…  We will have to get back to you on this one.

 

Carole Baskin Weds Howard Baskin

 

Big Cat Wedding:  Big Cat Rescue Founder Carole Lewis weds Advisory Board Chairman Howard Baskin on Nov. 1, 2004 !  On Nov. 1, 2002 Howie and Carole met at the kick off party for a new concept that Mary Hessler Key was introducing to Tampa Bay called No More Homeless Pets. The coalition was being formed to end euthanasia of healthy dogs and cats in shelters by implementing an aggressive spay and neuter program. Big Cat Rescue is one of the founding members of No More Homeless Pets of Hillsborough County.

 

At that party, Howie won Carole’s adoration immediately because he had actually visited WildLife on Easy Street and knew who we were when it seemed that no one in the area had ever heard of us.

 

By the following year Howie had joined Big Cat Rescue (formerly WOES) as the Chairman of the Advisory Board. He has worked with Carole full time to build awareness of Big Cat Rescue and its mission and build a sound financial base from which to continue our work.

 

On Nov. 1, 2003 Howie proposed to Carole on Anna Maria Island at sunset and Carole was so overwhelmed that all she could do was write YES! in the sand. (You know how she cries all the time…) This was her dream come true and the man she had waited a life time to meet.

 

The Fur Ball was such a major production that they couldn’t bear the thought of immediately afterward having to organize the huge wedding that would have been required to include Howie’s many friends and Carole’s large extended family. They opted instead to have a private ceremony on the same beach where they had gotten engaged. So on Nov. 1, 2004 at sunset Howie and Carole were wed by Phi