While in D.C. I was arranging for the rescue of Sheena Serval Carole’s cryptic notes: Diana in the Department of Ag in OH. Candace Miller. Female serval, spayed, 12 years old, declawed, plays at night. Simmerman, Melissa. Hi Carole, Thank you for taking time to speak with me today & thank you for your interest in our serval. The serval is currently in the custody of the Ohio Department of Agriculture and we have ownership of her. You can just use the contact information listed below. I will also be the vet signing the health certificate. I will work on the travel arrangements and call you as soon as I make some progress. Thanks again, Melissa Simmerman, DVM. Assistant State Veterinarian. Ohio Department of Agriculture. Division of Animal Health Dear Dr. Simmerman, I copied you, just now, on the application to the state of Florida for an import permit. I expect to have it by next Wednesday, and maybe even before. According to Dianna the serval is a 12 year old, declawed, spayed, female serval who weighs 31 lbs. She is described as being a fussy eater and loves to play after dark. The one thing I didn't hear was her name. Here are our other servals so you can see how they live:http://youtu.be/w-c-TsGxPSs Your serval will have her own 1,200 sf enclosure to herself, full of trees, bushes, grass and dens. Melissa Simmerman wrote: Carole, I was able to get a flight booked for next Thursday, June 26th. She will not arrive to you until 10:10pm that evening. I hope this is not too late. If you are okay with this I will send you flight details. Thanks for your help, Melissa Great! Here are the details: • Flight 2643 leaves Columbus @ 4:41pm, arrives in Atlanta @ 6:14pm • Flight 1797 leaves Atlanta @ 8:45pm, arrives @ Tampa INTL @ 10:10PM I will be in touch next week to let you know that plans are still on. Thanks This was the alert we ran to help fund her rescue: In 2003 John Babb of Berea, Kentucky shipped an 8 week old serval kitten to a woman in Ohio, who named her Sheena. (The breeder's website boasts that he is still selling serval kittens to pet owners in the U.S. for $6,000 and abroad for $9,000.). Fast forward 11 years... After Terry Thompson released 56 lions, tigers and bears in OH, the state decided to ban the private possession of big cats, but grandfathered in the existing animals as long as the owners would build a safe cage, register the animal and provide insurance or a bond, in case their animal escaped and hurt someone. Sheena's owner was willing to register her, and apparently kept her in a dog run, but was unwilling to provide insurance. She decided instead to turn Sheena over to the state of OH. To our knowledge she is the first exotic cat to be surrendered to the Ohio authorities. The ban became law in 2012 and the exotic pet exploiters predicted that hundreds or thousands of big cats would be dumped on the state, because they always try to scare off more protective rules with that absurd claim. It hasn't happened. People who really love their animals will do the minimal things asked of them by law to keep them. Sheena wasn't that lucky... Or maybe she was even luckier because when the state of OH called and asked if we would provide a permanent home for her we knew that YOU would help us do that. Please let Sheena know that she is loved and welcome at Big Cat Rescue by donating to her care. I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views. If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story. The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/ I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story. My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the streng