Carole Baskins Diary

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and 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.  These are my views and opinions. 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 strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

Maya Cougar Arrived Today

This was the alert we sent out the day before:

 

A Forever Home for the Holidays

 

We are excited to share with you that a team of Big Cat Rescuers is right now driving from Ohio back to our sanctuary in Tampa with a female cougar named Mya!

 

She is 18 years old (which equates to about 100 in human years) and was voluntarily surrendered by her owner to the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

 

Not many elderly captive big cats ever have the opportunity for a second chance and a brand new life at an accredited sanctuary. Mya is scheduled to arrive at Big Cat Rescue this week, so she will be home for the holidays.

 

We plan to spoil her and give her the best veterinary care and nutrition possible. She’s going to live in a big enclosure next to Reise, another elderly female cougar. Big Cat Rescue volunteers are already preparing new toys and a platform in her enclosure.

 

Will you help us welcome Mya to her forever home and donate to her care?

 

Photo L-R Kathryn Stapleton, Lauren Buckingham and Jamie Veronica.

 

 

You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org

 

Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

 

Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.  Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk

As much as I hate parties, it’s about the only time I get photos of Howie and I. This one was hosted by one of our banks, Pilot Bank, and we love Rita Loweman, so we went. It was held at the pompous, old, Palma Ceia Club, but had some amazing Christmas trees. There was a band and tables and tables of food and spirits, but not a decent conversation to be had other than with Howie. THIS AGREEMENT (the “Agreement”) is entered into this ____ day of November, 2015, among Big Cat Rescue Corp. (“BCR”), The Garold Wayne Interactive Zoological Foundation (“GWZ”), Joseph Allen Schreibvogel a/k/a Joe Exotic (“Schreibvogel”) and Shirley Schreibvogel (“Shirley” or “Shirley Schreibvogel”) (BCR, GWZ, Schreibvogel, and Shirley Schreibvogel are collectively referred to herein as the “Parties”). RECITALS In February, 2013, BCR obtained civil consent judgments and permanent injunctions against the G.W. Exotic Animal Memorial Foundation (the “Old Zoo”) and Schreibvogel in three civil proceedings in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The judgments totaled more than $1 million and were based on trademark infringement, false designation of origin, unfair competition, misrepresentation, and copyright infringement, as follows: Big Cat Rescue Corp. v. Big Cat Rescue Entertainment Group Inc., et al., No. 8:11-CV-209-MSS-MAP, judgment for trademark infringement and false designation of origin and unfair competition, awarding Plaintiff compensatory damages and attorney’s fees and costs in the total amount of $953,000.00, with post-judgment interest, and granting a permanent injunction, filed February 11, 2013 (domesticated on February 21, 2013 as an Oklahoma judgment in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, Case No. 5:13-fj-00001-F); Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and 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. These are my views and opinions. 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 strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet. You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile! Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

FBI Back in Control of Hitman

 

This is my recollection of the call today.  Matt Bryant, the USFWS Special Agent, called Howie to tell him that they are back “in control”.  He went on to explain that sometime back he’d been able to turn one of Joe’s workers into a Confidential Informant and that the informant alerted him to the fact that Joe asked to pay him $10,000 to kill me.  The FBI / USFWS  told the CI to tell Joe that he knew a professional hitman, so Joe said he’d pay that person 10,000 to kill me.  Meanwhile, one of Joe’s drunken, doped up derelicts said he’d do it, so Joe said he would pay him.  That’s what caused the panic in the agency to alert me that I was in danger, because now they did not control the situation and they couldn’t be sure that the derelict wouldn’t hitch a ride to Tampa without being detected.

 

Matt said that his CI had managed to “get back in” which would seem to indicate that Joe had tossed him out briefly.  The CI said he was able to convince Joe that hiring the derelict was just going to get him caught and that he really needed to hire the professional (undercover agent).  Joe was persuaded to wait and meet the FBI “hitman” next week.  Matt said they have to have a couple of things fall into place for an arrest and indictments:

 

Joe has to actually give some money to the hitman in advance.

 

Joe has to pay for a ticket across state lines, or provide travel, for it to warrant a federal crime.

 

The good news is that I don’t have to worry about a real hitman looking for me, unless Joe decides to shop for a better deal.

 

Meanwhile, this afternoon, before hearing from Matt,  the Gift Shop crew called me over the radio saying a volunteer from the past, named Doug, wanted to see me.  Doug’s name came up in Don’s disappearance documentation because he, Sandy Wittkopp and Susan Aronoff were usually the people who were around whenever we needed a Notary and two witnesses.  If Joe wanted to lure me out into the path of a bullet or a knife, he might well use such a ploy as to send someone in saying that they were this long, lost volunteer who had been so beloved.  Thankfully, we had two surveillance cameras in the Gift Shop and Doug is a VERY tall man.

 

Seeing such a person, standing against the wall, not shopping, gave me some assurance that going in to see him might not be the last thing I do.  Doug had taken the 3PM tour and then asked afterwards if they could call me to the store.  It was great to see the wonder in Doug’s face at the way the place has progressed since he left 20 years ago.  I told Doug that I think of him often in the context of tours because he was the first person to say, “You could charge people to come here.”  When I protested that people would just get themselves hurt, he offered to walk around with them and that was the beginning of our guided tours back in 1995 when we had our first 43 visitors.

 

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and 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.  These are my views and opinions. 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 strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org

 

Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

 

Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment p

Facebook Social Good Conference Howie and I were on the front row and I just burst into tears when Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would cover all fundraising transaction fees and offer a $50 million dollar per year matching grant to all non profits. I had been invited to this small gathering of about 400 non profits to see the new social good products Facebook is rolling out. Probably because I am an early adopter and will move the needle forward on some of these things. We had breakfast with a big donor, Lee, before the conference. She was such a sweet heart. Spends all her time quilting. It’s nice that she donates so much to protect animals. Today is Giving Tuesday, which is one of our two most important days in fundraising. Susan Bass and Afton Tasler went live, every hour on the hour, and between our email blast to about 78,000 supporters, and these posts we ended up raising over $74,000 in 24 hours. Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and 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. These are my views and opinions. 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 strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet. You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile! Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion. Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk

Fan Mail Re: Walkabouts

 

Hi Carole - I just wanted you to know how much your walk abouts help people get through life, without you even realizing!

 

I have been watching your videos for as long as you have been making them, and they are a great way for me to unwind at the end of the day.  I don't often get to see them live, but they're something I really look forward to watching when I get home from work.

 

A few years ago my husband and I were in Florida for a wedding and we decided to go on a tour at BCR.  We loved it so much that we came back to Florida this past May and went on a keepers tour.  You were nice enough to stop your golf cart and give me a hug when I waved at you from the tour!  I was so excited to see you in person and chat with you for a minute.

 

I have always loved all animals, since I was a very little girl, and I try to support you and another few sanctuaries when I can.  I also love to go to zoos all over the United States when we travel.  My dream was to be a veterinarian or a zookeeper when I was younger, but I ended up being an accountant instead (not even close to each other) so I can only just visit and donate!

 

So, I finally come to why I am writing you today:  On October 9th, our home burned completely down along with over 4000 other homes in the Northern CA fire.  Our entire neighborhood is gone, and we got out with very little time to spare.  I woke up at 2:15 am to the smell of smoke, so we gathered the pets, grabbed my purse and laptop and headed about 10 miles away to my parent's house.  Our home was completely gone before 3:00 am.  It has been the worst thing that has ever happened to me in my life, and I am a breast cancer survivor.

 

I lost everything I have ever owned in my life including all of my pictures, wedding album, wedding dress, kid's mementos, things left to me from my grandmother, my wedding ring, and the flag that was presented to my husband at his brother's funeral only the month before the fire.  I have been married for 34 years, and lived in that house for 30 of those years.  I also lost my things that I had saved from my childhood, yearbooks, prom pictures, etc.  It's just a total devastation and loss.

 

We stayed in a hotel for 3 1/2 weeks, and have just recently found a place to rent.  We will probably be here several years, as there are so many homes to rebuild, it's going to take a very long time.

 

For over a month, I was unable to watch the videos you post, or even read the daily updates because our life was in such an upheaval.  A few weeks ago I started going onto the old updates starting with October 9th, the day of the fire, and moving forward each day watching and reading.  Yesterday was the day  I caught up!  I can't even begin to tell you how much your updates and videos have made me feel better.  I have cried at all of the lost cats this past month and a half, and smiled at the antics of the silly ones!  It's these things that truly help people get through their day and start to feel whole again, and I can't begin to thank you enough.  Whenever you think that you aren't appreciated, or that there's nothing interesting going on at the sanctuary, please know that even just walking around with you and hearing your voice and your stories helps someone out there - even way over here in California!

 

Thank you for all that you do - and not only for the cats.  Fondly,  Jennifer 

 

Solar Powered Beer

I dreamed of a stainless steel unit that looked like the little coolers with handles, but it had a fold out solar array in the top.  You could put hot or cold food or beverages in it, take it to your party spot and then lay out the solar panels to keep the food hot or cold.

 

Planning to have lunch with Mom today after getting this letter from her:

 

Sorry to be so long in replying but an update to my computer took hours to do and then it crashed but I saw your email. I can’t print out the preNup and wondered if you could change Fred’s name and print it out

I rode my bike to work today; assassins be damned.

Howie and I are going to be in NY for a special, invitation only, Facebook event on Wednesday, so we are flying up on Tuesday and coming back on Thursday.  That means I only have today and tomorrow to ride and get some exercise before then.

 

I’m not being totally nonchalant about it though, as I rode in much later than usual, and plan to return earlier than usual tonight.  Just in case.

 

When I got home last night Howie commented that the email thread with Pat Craig was interesting.  I retorted that it was the most Pat’s ever spoken to me, and by far the nicest he’s ever been to me.  I think he’s always seen me as a media whore that overshadows his glory.

 

During our nightly jacuzzi time I told Howie what I’d like to do is offer to pay Joe’s rent and a reasonable allowance if he will hand over the GW Zoo and the animals to the rescue community and move to some foreign country where he’s unlikely to get his hands on cats again.  Maybe Argentina or Columbia, where wild animals are recognized by the courts as “persons” who have the right to be free.

 

I’d be willing to pay that rent and stipend until his natural death.  This will be a bitter pill for Howie to swallow, but in time I think he’d see that it was the fastest way to end the prolific breeding and pimping of cubs there.  It also shuts down one more of Antle’s places to dump his “used cubs” at the end of the season.

 

I’d even go one better and laud Joe for doing the right thing…for once in his miserable life.

 

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and 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.  These are my views and opinions. 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 strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org

 

Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

 

Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.  Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk

Mom is finally finding love at 76

Last night (Thanksgiving) Mom texted to ask for a copy of my prenup, saying that it’s not certain, but after spending Thanksgiving with Fred Lively and his family, she thinks he’s going to propose marriage.  I hope so.

 

We loved my father, but he was not a demonstratively loving man.  If you were to ask, what I remember of my parents as I was growing up, it would be lots of screaming and crying behind closed doors.  Surely, they didn’t think they were hiding that from us kids by shutting a door?

 

My mother has always been the most attentive, loving, supportive, reliable and gentle peacemaker I’ve ever known.  My father never once said to her, or me, that he loved us.  No cards of love.  No hugs or kisses or holding of hands that I ever saw.  He showed love in other ways; by being a good provider and not shattering my mother’s religious beliefs.  There were some early arguments on that front, but he kept quiet about his logical beliefs that the Bible couldn’t possibly be the inspired Word of God after the time that I was about 12 or so.

 

Fred, on the extreme other hand, took care of his bed ridden wife for years and has always been a friendly, social guy who seems to me to be the kind who would really appreciate Mom.

 

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and 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.  These are my views and opinions. 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 strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org

 

Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

 

Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.  Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk

Why Do You Turn the Cameras Off?

That's the question I am frequently asked, but the real question should be, "why do you have LIVE web cams?"  I'll answer both.

 

If it were up to me there would be LIVE webcams broadcasting every aspect of what we do, 24/7, and no matter what was happening, they would continue to stream the truth out to the world.  That's because I believe that complete transparency builds trust by letting people see, with their own eyes, everything that is involved in the keeping of wild cats in cages.  Those who want to know the truth will watch and learn and become our greatest allies in the freedom fight to end the practice of breeding exotic cats for life in prison.  Those who prefer to pass around cute cub photos and purposely blind themselves to the reality of those cubs' lives, are not the people who are going to help save them, or the planet, anyway.

 

I think that seeing the things no one else shows you, gives you the power to decide what is right and what is wrong.  I think it's necessary for you to see every aspect of what it means to be a captive and to understand why no captive born big cat can ever be set free.  You need to see the struggle our keepers go through, every day, to assist cats who have become so debilitated, by the fact that they were ripped from their moms early in life, and didn't get proper nutrition.  You should be able to watch those cats struggle every day to eat enough food and drink enough water, or get frozen blood to hydrate them, so that you are empowered to speak out against the evils of cub handling.  You should be able to see that even though some of the cats are skinny, lame or missing limbs or eyes.

 

When a cat is on the surgery table, in the Windsong Memorial Hospital, you should be right there with us, experiencing the heart rending decisions that have to balance what veterinary medicine can do vs. what it should do for the benefit of the cat.  There is an old saying, "when all you got are hammers, all your problems look like nails."  Thanks to advances in science and medicine we can prolong life in many ways, but who are we doing it for?  At Big Cat Rescue we have only ONE determining factor when choosing a heroic measure to save or extend a life vs euthanasia and that is the quality of life for the cat.

 

We stream LIVE from the West Boensch recovery hospital too.  You watch with us to see the days, weeks and sometimes months of recovery, so that you have an idea how we weigh the trauma of intensive care against the future quality of life a cat may be able to experience.  Every day and night, as we watch the cat trying to rebound, we are encouraged and yet there is always that huge question in our minds as to whether or not this will prove worth it to the cat.  Is this the choice they would make if they could tell us?

 

Sometimes the cats do tell us, that despite our best efforts, they aren't willing to keep fighting.  Sometimes we discover in surgery, or from blood work or other diagnostics, that there is no happy ending in sight, and we make the sad decision to euthanize.  Even when we know it was the kindest thing to do, it is never easy.

 

So why do we turn the cameras off sometimes?

 

There are a number of reasons, but most of them involve the fact that I don't speak for all of us.  Animal abusers want desperately to silence us and they can count on many people being lazy, self centered and prone to ignore anything that doesn't support their fantasy of being able to kiss and hug wild animals.  These cub pimps will take our words out of context, or tightly crop an image of a cage to make it look like our cats live in cramped quarters.  They gleefully share lies about how our cats die in an effort to stir up a frenzy of hatred toward us.  They will replay, over and over and over, a brief snippet of a situation to make it look as if the cat were not being given expert care.  I've been the target of their hate campaigns for more than 20 years, so it

Lemme see if I got this right...

 

Years ago, our attorney who’s been trying to collect the 1.2 million dollars Joe owes us, thought his violent threats against me were real enough that she reached out to the U.S. Assistant Attorney who agreed.  She sent it to the FBI who started watching Joe, but never did anything else, that I could tell.

 

On or about Nov 6 or 7, USFWS Special Agent, Matt is investigating Joe on an unrelated matter and comes across an imminent conspiracy to have me murdered, so Matt calls the FBI and tells them.  The FBI contacts Heather Hintz (our attorney) (maybe via the US Assistant Attorney) to tell her to tell me to stay out of the open.

 

I install two security cameras at our house and start watching my rear view mirror all the time to see if I’m followed.  By Nov 15 I’m feeling trapped and anxious because I’m unable to ride my bike 5 miles each way to the sanctuary and home every day.  Howie talks to Matt, to see if he can suss out how imminent they really think this is.  He learns that the hired assassin is in Oklahoma and Matt says they are watching him.

 

The U.S. Assistant Attorney says I should stay in hiding, but Matt seems to think he will know when the killer is heading this way.  I’m ready to go back to life as normal…as normal as it gets for me anyway.  Matt tells Howie on Nov 16 that he thinks they are within 24 hours of an arrest.

 

It’s now November 18 and no word of such yet.

 

We are celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary at the Holiday Inn on Clearwater Beach and I’m concerned my posts about us at the beach (no places listed) might be enough to have Joe try to burn our house down, so I schedule alert zones on the new cameras, that Babylon won’t trigger, to make sure he’s safe while we are gone.

 

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and 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.  These are my views and opinions. 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 strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org

 

Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

 

Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.  Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk

TWO days off!!!  What will I do with myself?

On our first few anniversaries, Howie and I would drive to Anna Marie Island, where we were married and spend a couple days.  Then we went to Amelia Island and in recent years it’s been St. Pete Beach, Treasure Island and this year we are going to Clearwater Beach.  We can almost never go on our actual anniversary due to sanctuary functions, but it’s usually within a month of it.

 

It’s a couple days of relaxing.  For Howie that means reading.  For me that usually means a lot of beach walking and listening to podcasts.  This year I may totally unplug and listen to harps or the voices in my head.

 

The photo above was snapped by Sharon Henry at our Volunteer Appreciation Party last Sunday.  The caption was by, the Kaption King himself, Howie.

 

I’m feeling more pent up angst than ever because I’ve been told by the Special Agent at USFWS that my life is in imminent danger so I shouldn’t ride my bike back and forth to work.  Yesterday Howie called them to ask, if they know who it is.  They know the person is in Oklahoma, and they have someone watching them, so then why wouldn’t they be able to tell us if the person left Oklahoma?  They said they could and while they wouldn’t give the “all clear” for me to go back to biking, it gives me enough assurance that I plan to when we get back from the beach.

 

The Special Agent said he believed they were within 24 hours of making an arrest.  He said they believe Jeff Lowe knows about it, but that he can’t be arrested for merely not reporting a crime.  I was really hoping this murder for hire plot would nail them both since not much will change if Joe’s in jail and Jeff’s in charge.

 

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and 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.  These are my views and opinions. 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 strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org

 

Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

 

Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.  Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk