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The International Bengal Cat Society Ethics Complaint Filed in JAN 2003

The following is an exact replica of what was sent to the TIBCS Ethics commity, with the following exceptions. I have changed any and all phone numbers to the generic 555-5555, and I have changed any and all email addresses to @XXXXXXXX.com to preserve privacy. Some formatting may be different because this is now a webpage and not a word document. Also, for ease of reading, I have changed the font color of the emails. With those exceptions, there have been no changes.



Julie first made contact with Diane Galpin May of 2000, emailing her for a price for her kittens.

Julie had actually decided against writing to Diane again. She was not real impressed with the kittens in the picture and went on to continue talking to other breeders. Everything changed when she received this email from Diane.

This email is slightly confusing and I remember reading it a couple of times before I fully understood what Diane was trying to say. On the one hand she is telling Julie that if she buys a kitten she can get an adult for free, but then on the other hand, she is charging for the adult. No where is there a mention that it is required to get a kitten before an adult can be purchased, and in fact, from this email, it seems as if Diane is offering an adult instead of a kitten for a lower rate.
As Julie had been researching the breed for several years and really had her heart set on a kitten it was hard to choose, because Katie stole our hearts as soon as we saw her picture. Diane's offer of buying Katie for the price of spay was too good to give up and we decided that it wouldn't't be bad to get both Katie and a kitten as they would be from the same cattery and would smell familiar to each other. This was a hope that they would get along well and would indeed be "buddies" as Diane suggests.
Julie writes:


Julie writes this email to Diane in an attempt to clear up the confusion and to let her know that she is interested in getting a kitten, but not until August. This is because we have already scheduled our summer vacation to California and have planned on traveling north and picking up Katie and the kitten on the last part of our trip, thus bringing them home with us. This would save shipping costs and would also save the cats from having to fly.


Diane writes to tell Julie that a check for $200 would hold a kitten for her. Julie writes back to confirm it is agreed that Diane hold both Katie and a kitten until early August when we will pick both of them up.

Diane replies to the email Julie sent narrowing down the kittens and confirming that she is buying one of them. I found it somewhat deceptive that she should wait until the sale is all but closed before disclosing Katie's sickness. She tries to dismiss it as inconsequential and tells Julie that other people want Katie. We did not know about Katie's condition before this, so the shock of her being sick and then other people trying to take her all combined to make us very protective of her, even though we had yet to meet her. Julie wrote back and told Diane, yes we did want Katie.
Diane then began emailing as well as calling Julie at work and at home two or three times a day asking her when she could come get Katie, as she didn't have room to keep her until August as previously agreed on. We made plans to take time off of work and go to Washington to get her.

A week before we leave town, Diane writes and informs Julie that the check she sent will not work. It seems to me that this would have been good information to send to someone BEFORE they pay and to have on the web site as well. This irked me, especially since she then insisted on cash.

Julie writes on Wednesday:


Julie writes and says:


Whether or not she actually went to the wedding remains unknown. We arrived in town about 5:30 p.m. We tried calling as we had a cell phone with us around 4:00 to let her know we would be in early. There was no answer, so we left a message on the machine. It might also be interesting to note that Julie had to print a map off of Yahoo for directions, as Diane neglected to send any. We also had to stop and ask for directions on how to get to her house and found out that it was in a new development that is not on all the maps yet. Quite an oversight if you ask me! After we got into town, and got directions, we went over to the house and knocked on the door. There was no answer. We waited about ½ hour in the driveway, and then went to where we were staying the night. We called again several times and left messages. We decided to go get something to eat, and stopped by again, with no success. After dinner, we watched some TV and waited for Diane to call us back. We had asked her to call as soon as possible as we wanted to get Katie and then get some rest before we left early the next morning, as the drive is about 14 - 16 hours. Not getting an answer, we drove over again, just to make sure someone wasn't home. There was no answer.
Diane called us about 11:30 that night and said that we should come get Katie, because she did not want to get up early the next morning. When we went over, we also looked at the kittens Diane had available. Neither of us were impressed with the kittens she had upstairs. Diane said that we could look at the kittens downstairs, but they would not be ready for another month or so.
We went downstairs to the basement, where the other kittens were. It was from these that my sister had originally agreed to purchase a kitten. When we entered the basement area, it smelled very strongly of waste materials. We entered a room in the basement, which only had a small window that was covered, an unused bunk bed along one wall and shelves along another wall. There was a pan of food in the middle of the floor and several plates scattered around that had dried up liquid on them (looked like it might be blood from meat). There were no toys or anything that made it look like a cat would be living there. The kittens were very small and had just opened their eyes. Diane started taking them out of the box they were in and placing them on the floor. The mother cat became very agitated, but just circled around, nosing them and occasionally taking one back to the box. We looked at them and decided on a couple that we liked before we went upstairs.
Diane then informed us that she wanted $92 for Katie. When asked why so much, Diane said it was to pay for the vet bill for Katie's spay. I thought that was an unusually high fee, but dismissed it as a different state and different vet. I then asked Diane if we also got Katie's registration papers. She said that we did not need them. I told her that I thought that the papers went with the cat, and even if we didn't need them, I would feel more comfortable having them with Katie. She claimed that she did not know where they were, but I insisted. Finally, she agreed to look for them and found them in a stack of other registration papers.
We went outside to get the carrier for Katie and discussed what we thought of the kittens. Julie and I were in agreement that we were not impressed. There was a marble that was downstairs that was not too bad, but we would rather get a kitten somewhere else.
When we returned inside, we told Diane that we were not sure that we would want a kitten, but that we would leave the deposit on the little marble, so that we could get him.
Feeling uncomfortable leaving $295 dollars in cash with no kind of receipt given in return, we insisted on something in writing. Diane again felt we were being ridiculous and so stated as she grabbed a notebook off of the counter and handwrote:

'Reciept' we recieved after half hour argument

Diane then gave Julie this "receipt" so has no copy for herself or her records.
Diane then began pressuring us into taking one of the kittens that was upstairs so that we wouldn't have to drive again. We then asked if she wasn't willing to ship the kitten to us, as that had been our impression before we came. She agreed that if we got one of the kittens downstairs that she would ship it to us, but it would be easier if we just took one of the ones upstairs. My sister was not very impressed with the kittens upstairs, as she had wanted to get a marble to contrast Katie's spots. Diane pointed out one little female to us. Julie started playing with it to see how its personality was and Diane says that it looks like it is going to rosette, but that we probably didn't know what that meant. In fact, both of us knew what that meant, but neither said anything. The kitten was an active little girl and we thought about it. Julie then said, yes, we could take that one and be happy. Diane then says, no, we can't take it because she wants to keep it for breeding. This became typical of our experience. Diane would push for a decision one way, and when we agreed, she would tell us that we could not do it that way. At this point, we went back downstairs to look at the kittens once more and let Diane know which ones we were interested in.
It might be of some interest to note that the mother cat had moved the kittens from the box in the closet to a far corner under the bed. Diane crawled under and tossed them out so that we could see them again. The mother cat became quite agitated and started gathering them up and trying to take them back under the bed. It was quite plain to me that this cat was not used to people coming in and touching the kittens or handling them.
We went back upstairs and asked again if Diane would be willing to ship the kitten, as she said the kittens would not be ready to leave in Aug when we would be coming through on our vacation, and we were getting ready to move so could not make the trip again and needed to know what to plan on. She said that it would not be a problem, and could ship it anywhere that we needed her to. Julie asked how much it would be and she said that it would run about $100. We agreed and left.
___________________________________________________________________________________


At the time of this email, we were still in Wyoming, packing and trying to get everything settled for our departure. Diane had never mentioned the cost of the health certificate or the carrier in previous conversations, so this came as a surprise. We were scrambling, trying to come up with $50 more dollars that we could send. We rearranged expenses and got the full $345.00 that Diane was asking and sent a check to her. Three days later, Diane began emailing and then calling us on the telephone two to three times a day.
She phoned to find out when we were going to come get the kitten, as she was out of room again. Julie informed her that we could not come and pick the kitten up as we were moving and had a deadline plus expenses, which is why we had inquired about shipping when we had picked up Katie. It was not our first choice and had originally made plans to pick the kitten up, but Diane insisted he would not be ready then (the last week of July). Diane then asked which airport to send the kitten to. When we told her that we were moving to New Mexico, she said that she could not send the kitten due to heat embargos enforced by the airlines. This is understandable and we had no problem with that. We said, alright, we would wait until it was lifted, which was scheduled in late August, early September.
A day or so later, Diane began calling again. Couldn't't we come and get the kitten or have it shipped to a different place? Julie said, yes, ship it to Denver, as we had family there and we would be there in a few days and could pick him up then.

Diane now says she can not ship to Denver but will try to get it to Salt Lake. Traveling to New Mexico through Salt Lake adds about 10+ hours onto the trip and several degrees in temperature. However, to try and work with her so that she would stop calling us, we agreed. I talked with family and was informed that one of my cousins was in Salt Lake and would be until the end of the week and then was coming to Casper. This would work out very well. Julie told Diane, yes, please ship the kitten to Salt Lake.
Diane called several hours later stating that she could not ship the kitten to Salt Lake. By this time, both of us were so upset with the whole situation, we just wanted the kitten and for Diane to leave us alone! I talked to her on the phone this time, as Julie was becoming quite upset. I asked her why she could not ship to Utah and she told me that there was a heat embargo. I said I understood that, but why was she asking if she could ship there without checking it out first. She replied that she did call and the only time that she could ship the kitten was early in the morning, which would require her to leave very early in the morning or stay the night in a neighboring town. I was confused why this was a problem. She said that if she were to do this, she would not be making any money on the kitten. This irritated me! I asked her how she shipped kittens to Japan as she states on her website if driving to a town ½ hour away lost her so much money. She did not answer this. I demanded that she either get the kitten to us or stop calling. She became angry and hung up.
Julie tried calling later that evening in an attempt to convince her to ship to Salt Lake. There was no answer, so she wrote an email:

To be fair, Diane only made this stipulation after money had been sent for a deposit. We were in a corner now. We either continued trying to deal with her, or we were out $200 for a kitten. It was getting very frustrating because every time we thought something was settled, Diane would call a few hours later and say it was not possible. She focused on the heat embargo and said it was not her fault. We did not blame her for not being able to ship due to the heat embargo. We DID blame her for not working with us and shipping it when she could, especially when it was her idea.
Diane calls and says that her sister is visiting and she was planning on taking the kitten with her to Phoenix. We would then need to make plans to go there to get the kitten. We still need to pay for shipping.
Julie writes:

Of course we did not want to give up Katie. We had paid the fee, we had gone and picked her up and she had been with us for about 2 months. She had bonded to us and we were completely happy with her. During one phone call that Diane made, Julie asked her why she wanted Katie back in order to get a refund. Diane said that she told her that she had to buy a kitten in order to get Katie. Julie said that she had agreed to get Katie before she had committed to getting a kitten and even dismissing that, she never said that she didn't EVER want a kitten, she just wanted to postpone until things settled down. Diane responded that if we didn't either get the kitten or send Katie back she would be taking us to court.
This scared us, as was the intent. We were unsure of what the charges would be or how this would work, but being in financial straights, we had no desire to test this. Julie asked her what she wanted to do to get this worked out. Diane replied that she was sending the kitten with her sister and we needed to work things out with her to pick it up by the end of the week.
This was not the best option, as it meant that we would have to drop everything in the middle of moving in to take a road trip, but given the options and the new situation of the phone call, we agreed.
Diane then tried to change the amount due for the shipment, but we refused, as we agreed that shipping would be $100. We did not feel that we should have to pay extra when we would be traveling to get the kitten anyway. If he was coming right to us, or to Salt Lake, we would have paid more. However, we did not feel we needed to pay for the plane, our gas, and her sister's gas when Diane was the one that came up with the idea. She told us she was only trying to get the kitten to us faster, but the whole Salt Lake fiasco behind us, I was not inclined to believe that. When we would not back down she agreed that $100 would be fine.
Diane had told Julie that she did not want a check for the rest of the kitten's payment, but would prefer a money order or cash. As we were not sure of the exact location of the meeting point, and had never met Diane's sister, Debbie, we decided it would be better if we sent a money order made out to Diane herself. This would also give us some form of proof that we had given her the remaining money she was asking.

Two weeks later, we made contact with Debbie Angle, Diane's sister, to finalize plans to meet her in Arizona. She told us her and her husband were going to visit friends in Saint Johns and that if we could meet them Saturday, August 20 we could meet close to the Arizona, New Mexico border.
We had agreed to meet Debbie at 1 o'clock, as we felt this gave both of us adequate time for travel. Julie and I arrived about an hour early, and so grabbed some lunch at a Taco Bell in the gas station and kept an eye out for Debbie. 45 minutes after the agreed on time, Debbie and her husband arrived. Debbie stepped out of the car and as a greeting started complaining that they had to drive farther than us. I didn't't understand this because besides just being rude, the town was very close to being halfway and on their route to go to the town where their friends live, which is why we agreed on this particular spot. Later, I looked up the mileage on Yahoo maps and found that if they went through Flagstaff, it would be longer for them, but it is still on the way to Saint Johns which is where they were going. From Albuquerque NM to Sanders AZ it is 180 miles. From Saint Johns AZ to Sanders AZ it is 57 miles.
My sister had made up a receipt, figuring that if Diane had hand written the receipt before, she would not object to one written by her. We felt uncomfortable making a trade with no kind of paperwork whatsoever, and as Diane states that we are being "silly" for wanting a receipt or proof of money transfer, we did not rely on her for anything. Julie had made two copies so that each party would have one.
Reciept we made for our kitten Copy of Money Order Stub obtained to pay for kitten
When Julie pulled out the money order, Debbie asked what it was, and tried to tell us that Diane had said that only cash would be accepted. After 3 phone calls to Diane, and 30 to 40 very frustrating minutes, Debbie and Diane agreed to take the money order. Their reason for not accepting it was that they didn't know if it was real or counterfeit. That in itself was very insulting to both of us, and I was about ready to leave and not get the kitten. I was tired of being treated like a criminal or a child that does not know anything about animals.
Finally, after three phone calls by Debbie, she took the money order and her husband handed me the kitten. Debbie proceeded to lecture Julie saying 'He drank a little bit this morning, but hasn't eaten anything or gone to the bathroom. You might let him out in that field there before you go. He slept most of the way, so you will probably want to play with him a little in the car. I would be careful if you let him out to go to the bathroom though. He is pretty skitterish so if you let him down, you might not see him again.'
When I took the kitten from Duane (Debbie's husband), I knew immediately that he was underfed and that he was either sick, drugged or both, as he was very lethargic and unresponsive. In fact, when he got in the truck, he sniffed the seat, almost fell to the floor getting down, then laid down under the seat to go to sleep. Julie got in and coxed him out as I began the return trip. He fell asleep almost immediately and even when we ran into a rain and hail storm so bad it forced all the cars to the side of the road to wait it out, he slept out on the seat between us, not at all scared or concerned about the deafening noise around us. This puzzled us and reinforced our concern that something was wrong. Julie agreed that he was VERY thin, and that his ribs were easily felt and seen. We took him to PetSmart as soon as we got into town, hoping that their vet would still be in, as ours was already closed. The vet there was just closing, but upon a brief examination, told us that we should get him in to see a vet as soon as we could. Unfortunately, every one was closed until the next Monday.
When we got him home we gave him a flea and tick bath, and treated him with extreme care, as he was VERY jumpy and distrustful of anyone or anything. His eyes looked better and he was moving more steadily as well, convincing us that he had been drugged. This upset me, because no mention of it was made by either Debbie or Duane and we would not have known what to tell the vet if he had had a bad reaction.
On Monday, we took him to see our vet and she found several dead mites on both of his ears and said that the bath that we had given him probably killed them, as they had not been dead long. She gave us drops to put in his ears, as they were a bit red as if he was developing an infection and the backs of his ears were void of hair, indicating that he was rubbing and scratching them a lot.
Katie, the ex-queen that we had purchased in June, had still not gotten rid of her limp, and in fact it was getting worse. The vet said we should watch it a bit longer before taking x-rays, and after having her for 3, almost 4 months, Katie was limping all the time and was scheduled to go in to the vet within the next week. Katie's ears also had dead mites in them and the vet said that they probably came from the cattery and that the baths that we gave them killed them. Her reason for saying this was that our long-hair that had lived with us for six years was in perfect health.
We had requested proof of vaccination for both Katie and the kitten and any of Katie's past vet records to help with her diagnosis now, and have received no response or help from Diane.
Overall, both my sister and myself have been very frustrated with the whole situation. Both cats have settled in with minimum to no difficulty. In fact, we were prepared for Katie to be sad and depressed from leaving her home of over 2 years and coming with us, but there was none of that, and she seemed very happy and knew us and would rub us and come to us almost immediately. She would not do this with anyone else, so it was not that she just had an affection to everyone.
We are saddened and angered at the condition that the kitten arrived to us in, especially after part of the $100 shipping fee was to obtain a health certificate for him. We have had to take him to the vet several times to get him healthy with no compensation or cooperation from Diane. He has finally been diagnosed with a bleeding ulcer that the vet told us would never be completely healed, we could only monitor him and try and keep him out of stressful situations and bring him in for medication if it became aggravated enough to cause it to bleed. He was so scared of everything when he first came to us that he would hide all day. Only with lots of patience and loving did he come to trust us. He was especially scared of any kind of box or bag and would run and hide if one was brought into the room. This was very hard for us, because, if you recall, we were in the middle of moving in, so there were lots of boxes around. He was terrified of going in the car, and so the vet visits were especially hard.
After years of working with him, he is a confident young male Bengal. Whenever a box is brought into the room now, he runs over to see what is in it. I take him out daily on a leash so that he can explore outdoors, something that freaked him out when we first got him. He also will ride in the car without many problems. He still gets stressed, so on trips we give him a homeopathic that relaxes him. He usually does very well this way. He occasionally gets car sick, but we monitor him closely and try not to let him get to that point. Once very wary of new people, hiding the whole time they were there, he now is one of the first ones to greet visitors at the door.
When we first informed Diane that the kitten came to us sick, she responded that her sister's kitten was not sick, so it was not anything that came from her cattery, or her responsibility. She also ignored the request for the name of the vet in Washington that had any of Katie's vet records. Our vet requested this so that she would know what had been diagnosed and what procedures had been performed. With no help from Diane, we spent several hundred dollars confirming that Katie had the genetic defect luxating patella and not a hip disorder or other painful misalignment.

I am now going to list a few comments on the vet bills that I am attaching copies of. These are only the vet bills that we occurred during the first 12 months of ownership. They probably would have been higher, but there is no way we could afford it, so a lot of home remedy was applied as well.

VET BILLS:

1- Eubank Animal Clinic 8/22/00
Patient: Skimbleshanks, Katie, Sweetie (Katie is not listed, but if you contact them, they will confirm that she was actually part of the examination)
Medication: Given an antibiotic, and drops to go in Skimble, and Katie's ears to get rid of infection. Dr. Craig also found dead ear mites on Skimble and Katie, and told us that the flea and tick bath that we gave him probably killed them, as they had not been dead long.
Vet bill reciept

2- Eubank Animal Clinic 8/22/00
Patient: Sweetie
Medication: Rabies shots. The other two were not given any shots, as Diane did not let us know when their last one was, and we were waiting to see if she would.

Vet bill reciept

3- Eubank Animal Clinic 10/20/00
Patient: Skimbleshanks, Katie, Sweetie
Medication: All were given a laxatone, until the fecal tests came back, as one or more were bleeding.
Amoxi Drops were prescribed for all of them to help heal their intestines, and stop the bleeding. Plain clay non-clumping litter was also prescribed. Katie's limp had become so severe, she would not walk unless absolutely necessary. She also sat in very awkward positions, of which we have pictures. Diane still refused to send any medical records.

Vet bill reciept


4- Eubank Animal Clinic 10/27/00
Patient: Katie
Medication: After no response from Diane on any previous treatment for Katie by a vet in WA, we decided to have her X-Rayed to make sure it was her knee and not her hip that was bothering her. This would also give the vet a better idea of what exactly was wrong with the knee, if that was what it turned out to be, and how to medicate her.
The diagnosis was that it was indeed the knee, and prednisone was prescribed as a test to see if it would help. It did, but being a young cat, we did not feel it was in her best interest, to be on the steroid for the rest of her life. Our vet concurred and she helped us find alternate methods of treatment, including herbal, and alternate healing techniques, as the cost of surgery was a bit overwhelming to us at the time.
Vet bill reciept


5- Casper Animal Medical Center 12/14/00
Patient: Skimbleshanks
Medications: Rabies vaccination and castration.
We chose to have him castrated in Casper while visiting family, as we had past experience with them, and were happy with their work. Knowing that castration can be very harmful if done improperly, and given Skimble's past, we wanted to make things as smooth as possible.
Vet bill reciept

6- Casper Animal Medical Center 8/25/01
Patient: Skimbleshanks
Medications: Cimetadine. This was prescribed when Dr Mahnke diagnosed Skimble with a bleeding ulcer, which presented itself during a vacation to WY. Skimble is still suffering from this condition, but the best we can do is treat it when it flairs, as the vet told us there is no way to "cure" an ulcer, just try and prevent flairs.

Vet Bill Reciept



Feel free to contact either vet or ourselves if anything is unclear or needs details added.

Currently Katie is taking Hartz Health Measures Glucosamine Joint Therapy for All Cats one to two times daily. This helps, and she is now running and jumping again, an activity she would only look on two years ago.

Skimbleshanks is treated with Stomach Sensitive food, currently Hills' Science Diet. He also gets yogurt and/or soy milk when his ulcer flairs. He sees a vet for medication if blood becomes apparent in his stool.

All treats are carefully screened, to make sure it will not interfere with their medication or create problems with digestion.


Being very dissatisfied with Diane's treatment of us, both during and after the purchase of our cats, I wrote a letter to the TIBCS and to the Washington State BBB. I was contacted by a representative of TIBCS who told me that there was not much that could be done and that a complaint was noted. I was content to drop the whole incident, and we went about our lives.
In the next two years, Katie and Skimbleshanks (the kitten), found ever new ways to bring laughter into our lives. My sister decided to put some of their antics on the internet, turning the incidents into events as seen from Katie's point of view. She also put up a very comprehensive page on Bengals, where they came from, what they look like, etc. She has been complimented by people all over the world for her website and this page specifically. The website has one several web awards.
At the bottom of the information page, Julie and I agreed that since this was an informational page, she would add a small paragraph at the bottom stating her experience with Diane. She writes:
This is the breeder I got my two bengals from. Not only was it possibly the worst experience of my life to do business with this woman, but she kept demanding more money with absolutely no refunds. Before I knew it, I was either out all the money I had "deposited" or had to spend hundreds more to get my cat. She also had hidden expenses, and I got no receipt (except for one which I had to fight to get), or written proof of anything from her, including the health certificate. She said on her website that she guarantees health, but both my cats came to me sick, and full of parasites. We had more expenses with repeated vet visits just to get them healthy. Katie's' fluxating patella is a genetic defect, so all cats in the same line have the defect or carry it. Health and betterment of the breed are, in my opinion, not her top priorities.

Beginning 24 Oct, Diane began emailing and entering on the guestbook how the website was libelous then she changed to slander then back to libelous. She escalated her emails into threats of lawsuits and then just downright threats.
Needless to say, this was all very upsetting to both of us, but especially to my sister, to whom most of the pointed jibes and threats were aimed at. She turned over the management of the guestbook and the email to a group known as "Katie's Angels" who surf the website regularly and are committed to keeping it at a G rating. As Katie's Angels do not condone such behavior, no replies were made to these emails or guestbook entries. Diane then had several others post and email, giving them erroneous information that they then quoted and used as examples. We found out later that she had posted to the Bengals-L list asking people to write to Julie. This is explicitly against the rules of the list, but that did not seem to bother several people.
Please see attached pages for examples.
Obviously, there is nothing that TIBCS can do about the email harassment, and we aren't asking that you do. What we are asking is that this breeder be investigated. We were not pleased with the way she did business two years ago, and we are even more unhappy with her and her methods now.
I don't believe it is in anybodies best interest to try and settle anything by using scare tactics and harassment.


E-MAILS:

This is the first time we have heard from this woman since April 2002, when Julie requested baby pictures of the female Bengal, Katie. Before that, neither of us had sent or received any emails from Diane since Aug 2000.
As you can imagine, it was unsettling and even a bit frightening to receive this.

As you can see by the date and time, no one is going to read this email until the next day. Again, it is somewhat frightening, especially since it was sent, not to Julie's email for The Katie Diaries, but for the account she has on the website showing her artwork. She is not specific in what she wants removed, nor what she will do if it is not removed until later emails, when she mentions suing. As you can imagine, we were a bit concerned and to tell the truth, I still am. Obviously, she can not take Julie to court, because for slander to be an issue, what was said has to be made up or false in nature. Therefore, she can not sue Julie, and emails like these make me wonder what she will try when that avenue is closed to her.
This email shows clear intentions of harassment if nothing else. When she wrote several times to the Western Horizons email account, I wrote back: "This is a business account. I would appreciate further personal communications with Julie to be addressed through a personal email account. I believe Katie's web page has a link for such a purpose. This account is for business with Western Horizons. If you have questions or would like to purchase an item off of the website, this is the correct email.
Thank-you,
The Staff of Western Horizons"

This Daniel Carlson fellow, later found out to be Diane's brother, started writing both on the guestbook and to our email accounts the same time as Diane. We have never heard of or had any dealing with him before. We have basically ignored his emails, as he has mimicked everything that Diane has said up to this point. The last line of the second paragraph is the reason I am including this email. If it were not for the others proceeding this email, I probably would have blown this one off as another attempt to pressure Julie.
The "whole story" that he got from Diane was so erroneous and backwards that it was hard not to laugh. However, trying to take them seriously suddenly became a lot easier with the line: "Get your act together before I and others take you to task on the matter." What does that mean?? Obviously, he does not just want to find out our side of the story, or he would have asked for that. He goes on to say: "It will begin today Julie....."
Again, this email would have been blown off as someone just trying to scare us except for the previous emails that mentioned they knew where we lived. Obviously these people are not after finding the truth or even settling differences. They want a made up story to be known as truth and Julie denies them that, as well as denying them the pleasure of any kind of response. However, this e-mail's tone and even more serious undertone dictated that we respond one more time to him, especially since he was again sending these emails to the Western Horizons account and not The Katie Diaries account. Julie's response follows the email.
Julie's response:


GUESTBOOK:

Katie's guestbook shows how far and wide her website is known. You can look through it if you go to http://mars.guestpage.com/home/view.rc?LoginName=XXXXXXXXXX or through her webpage. This entry was a pleasant surprise for us in early October. Julie proceeded to create a THANK-YOU page for our soldiers and their service to our country and our freedom.
Visitor's Name: SPC Richard Crawford, Jr
Homepage URL: http://
You are from: Kentucky
Comments: Katie, the purrs at the begining of your page were so cute. I am currently deployed to Afganistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. We (the soldiers here) have very limited use of the computers for personal use, but when we do get the chance, most of us use it to find some funny stuff to make our days go by quicker. Being away from our families is hard, but thanks to sites like yours, we can enjoy the small amount of personal time we do have. Thanks again, and keep purring for us.
Sign Time: October 05 2002 at 07:38:11

We have received several emails wondering when the Katie Diaries will be back up.
I have included copies of the guestbook entries made by Diane and her friends. As you can see, we did not want this garbage up on the website, where we know children visit. One of the goals of the Katie Diaries is to give a G-Rated site as an option for entertainment. This "fight" belongs in the background. The link to the guestbook has been removed until further notice due to this. However, and again I am not asking you to settle any differences, or make any judgments, just see what they are writing. I feel that, while there is nothing directly threatening as in the emails. They are attacking and harassing Julie for her religion and again pressuring her to change the website, and I am only including them as some of the emails refer to them, and also to show that nothing is sacred with them, not even religious beliefs.
I have numbered the entries and believe I have kept them in order as they were written. I would like to comment on a couple of them.

1:
Visitor's Name: Diane Galpin
Homepage URL: http://
You are from:
Comments: I am the breeder that you speak of so badly in which you received your two kitties. You web site is libelous and untruthful. Being an LDS member, I am surprised that you didn't't go through the proper channels if you had a complaint about me rather the resorting to a website that has blantant mistruths. Diane Galpin
Sign Time: October 25 2002 at 14:55:07

First entry by Diane. Mentions that she is LDS and wonders why she didn't't go through proper channels. For the record, Julie did go through proper authorities, specifically, TIBCS and other Bengal Cat authorities. Nothing was done. Nothing is demanded on the website and nothing untruthful said.

2:
Visitor's Name: Katie's biggest fan
Homepage URL: http://
You are from:
Comments: I am very close to the author of this website and happen to know that she spoke not only to the above breeder, but also went to authorities. If anyone wants to debate the issues on the website, I urgue you to contact the author as I know she has documentation and vet records to back her up. As for what religion the author is, she could be an Athiest she can still be an honest person. It is ridiculous to hide behind religion, no matter what it is.
Sign Time: October 25 2002 at 17:30:15

3:
Visitor's Name: Another Katie Fan
Homepage URL: http://
You are from:
Comments: I would just like to say that I love the Katie Diaries and that the issues brought up on the website are important for everyone to think about. I also want to say that I know the bad breeder below, and that I'm surprised she even knew the word libelous. I wonder how many hours she spent with a dictionary and a thesaurus to come up with it. Who doesn't expect the liar to profess innocence though? I once asked her a simple question about the lineage of one of her queens and she couldn't tell me. To me, that clearly spells "Bad Breeder"
Sign Time: October 25 2002 at 18:05:46

4:
Visitor's Name: Diane Galpin
Homepage URL: http://
You are from:
Comments: You do not have documentation. I have hundrdres of good references and friends that I too could write on your ridulous guestbook. A person can not please all of the people but I tried to please these strange people. My twin sister even drove and met Julie half way between Phoenix and Albuquerque to save her from paying for the flight of the second kitten because Julie was such a whiner. I have never been turned in to TIBCS by anyone. That shows my record Contact them and see. I have been breeding for 7 years now. I did try many times to email you Julie and your emails bounce back from all of my email accounts. You'll be hearing from my attorney on your libelous website. Diane Galpin
Sign Time: October 25 2002 at 19:17:09

#4: She has been turned into the TIBCS, at least once, by us two years ago. I would not be surprised if others had turned her in as well. I can understand why no one would step up and profess if they had, the way she and her friends gang up and harass those that do.

5:
Visitor's Name: Diane Galpin
Homepage URL: http://
You are from:
Comments: Julie, Give me an email address that works. I did email you at westernhorizons@XXXXXXXX.com because your email addresses at both the Katie web site and the other marbled boy web site did not work. Diane Galpin
Sign Time: October 25 2002 at 20:12:06

#5: The email listed on the website (katiecat@XXXXXXXX.com) was and is a valid email. I don't know what her problem was. The other web site she mentions is not Julie's so emailing it wouldn't have done any good anyway.

6:
Visitor's Name: Diane Galpin
Homepage URL: http://
You are from:
Comments: To Another Katie Fan (and probably a Mormon friend of hers) I am a prolific reader and am 46 years old and that is the reason I know words that you would have to look up in the dictionary (since you think it's such an impressive word.) To me, it not a big word at all. Are you going to have to look up prolific now? Grin Diane Galpin
Sign Time: October 25 2002 at 20:27:03

#6: Her response to "Another Katie Fan" demonstrates her contempt of any of Julie's friends and assumes that any friends that she has must be LDS as well. Again, no reason to bring this up, other than to disparage Julie and her religion. She is also condescending to this person.

7:
Visitor's Name: Diane Galpin
Homepage URL: http://
You are from:
Comments: I am the breeder that you speak of so badly in which you received your two kitties. You web site is libelous and untruthful. Being an LDS member, I am surprised that you didn't't go through the proper channels if you had a complaint about me rather the resorting to a website that has blantant mistruths. Diane Galpin
Sign Time: October 25 2002 at 14:55:07

8:
Visitor's Name: Daniel Carlson
Homepage URL: http://
You are from:
Comments: My name is Dan Carlson and I have bought three bengals from Diane Galpin. She is the most humane animal lover I have met. The cages she has outside were, at the time I bought my cats, connected to the house so they can go in or out depending on their whim. Did she close the opening to the inside of the house or something? And so far as the money thing goes, she sold me a neutered male that she had retired and warned me that even when neutered a male may spray occasionally. When he did, in fact, spray, she gave me my money back immediately. I had offered to give him to a friend, but Mrs. Galpin said she would rather have him back than have him go to someone she hadn't screened for kindness and responsibility. I don't know what caused the difference is between your impression of her cattery and mine, but she is considering filing libel charges against you and I told her I would testify in her behalf. If you aren't happy with Katie, I will buy her from you for the amount you paid for her, as well as your vet bills. Katie was nursing a litter when I was picking a cat, so I couldn't have her then. Please respond, I want to know what happened to Katie, and want her if you will sell her to me........ Dan Carlson Canyonville, OR danielcarlson@XXXXXXXX.com
Sign Time: October 27 2002 at 06:51:18


#8: This is the entry that Julie was referring to when she told Daniel Carlson that Katie was not nor ever has been for sell. It is unclear why he thinks that she (Katie) is for sell, or why he believes something has happened to her.

9:
Visitor's Name: dan
Homepage URL: http://
You are from:
Comments: People can say what they want and it is up the one being defamed to prove it isn't true. Let me ask you this: is it ok to say that someone is having an affair and molesting their own children? Even if it isn't true, you seem to say the burden of proof is on the accused. If this is your opinion, and you base the integrity of your website on this premise, you are giving the accuser the green light to say anything that comes to mind, and the accused isn't being defamed if it's true. It would seem that the burden of proof would be on the accuser.
Sign Time: October 27 2002 at 12:56:24

10:
Visitor's Name: Daniel Carlson
Homepage URL: http://
You are from: Canyonville, OR
Comments: Julie, Love your website, very cute! Now, as for accuracy and honesty, you need to amend your terrible libel against the Bengal breeder you seem to have a vendetta against. Diane is a loving compassionate person and you are harming someone who is just as much a lover and benefactor of Bengals as you are. If you don't want me to post on your website guestbook, give me an address that works. I write you and it is returned from your personal email program. You are wrong and apparently an angry hard-hearted lady. A bit young I suspect.
Sign Time: October 28 2002 at 11:24:18

11:
Visitor's Name: Daniel Carlson
Homepage URL: http://
You are from: Canyonville, OR
Comments: I suppose we either keep this up forever, with me posting and you deleting or you discuss this like an adult. Diane Galpin has been given a guilty verdict without being able to call witnesses. You won't even respond to her pleas to be truthful and discuss this with her personally. You are a terrible representative for your Mormon faith. I know some Mormons who are honest and fair but you, young lady, are not. Here, delete this one and I'll add another for you to delete. Or you could give us an email address that works. Why are you hiding? And why do you mistreat Katie so?
Sign Time: October 29 2002 at 11:03:45

#11: Another reference to her being LDS, this time telling her she is "a terrible representative." Trying to anger her into a response I suspect. The last line states: "And why do you mistreat Katie so?" Where did he get THAT??? Again, I suspect trying to prod Julie into responding to their barbs.

12:
Visitor's Name: Diane
Homepage URL: http://
You are from:
Comments: Julie, You did not get my permission to put photos which you got from my website or me on your webpage. The photo of Keek and of Katie as a baby were taken by me. Please remove them. Diane.
Sign Time: October 29 2002 at 12:58:02

#12: Julie did receive two photos in the mail from Diane, which she put on the website. She obtained them specifically for that purpose. Julie has not, nor ever will use pictures from Diane's website.


As you can see, there were many calls by Diane and Daniel to act as an adult immediately followed by putting her down and running her through the mud. I find it completely understandable why she did not want to contact them to "discuss" anything. Diane had already made it clear that she did not want to take responsibility for the health of the cats or the treatment of Julie two years prior.

The website www.thekatiediaries.250x.com was suspended by Chris Starky, who runs 250x.com. There was no prior notice and when I phoned to ask why this occurred, he explained that he had been getting emails and phone calls several times a day by Diane Galpin. She was threatening lawsuits and as The Katie Diaries was a free site, he felt it easiest to just suspend the site for the time being. He tried to ignore her for as long as possible, but he was just not able to get any work done due to her harassment.
This was especially disappointing to Julie and myself because we have people all over the world that visit the site regularly.

Along with her regular downgrading emails and guestbook entries (that we have since changed so that they are not posted until previewed by one of Katie's Angels), Diane posted several times to the Bengals-L list on yahoo, run by Jim Smith, found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Bengals-L.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Bengals-L/message/19746


Rather than comment on this outrageous entry, I will ask the reader to compare what has already been said to what Diane writes. I would like to say that we did drive quite a ways, in fact a little over 956 miles. If we came across as angry, it could have been for several reasons:

Several people did contact Julie, which is a direct violation of the Bengal-L List agreement when signing up. Whether these people saw Diane's plea or she contacted them directly is unknown. What is known is that they filled up our guestbook and email inbox. This is unsolicited (and unwanted) attention!



I recently revisited the official TIBCS website and found a code of ethics that breeders are supposed to abide by. I have read through them and would like to comment on them as pertains to this particular case.
The following is taken from http://www.bengalcat.com/abouttibcs/ethicscomplaints.php and http://www.bengalcat.com/abouttibcs/coe.php

Suggestions for keeping yourself in the Ethics clear:

1- Have completed deposit contracts before the first payment is received

As stated both in the first complaint and on the website, no contracts were ever made or signed by Diane. In fact, the first payment, a.k.a. deposit made by my sister was a check sent via U.S.P.S. Diane kept the check, but requested a new one, stating it had to be made out to her personally, not India Ink Bengals. It seems to me it would have been a good idea to have mentioned this before the check was sent, and even better to have it on the website that the business is not an official one, registered with the city or state. The original check was only returned after we visited her and paid her in cash.

2- Do not take any more money on deposit than you can return easily and quickly if a problem arises.

Diane requires half down (at least $200) and no refunds. She refused a refund when the timing became bad for acquiring a kitten, as we were moving and wanted to wait to get a kitten until we was settled. Diane refused and demanded that we pick a kitten or we were out the money.
Please see comments on pages 1 through 10.

3- Have completed, and signed by both parties, all sales, breeding, or other contracts prior to actual transfer or shipping of any cats.

Diane had no paperwork whatsoever for us when we picked Katie up. We argued for five minutes or more to get the registration papers from her. She insisted that we would not need them for anything and wasn't sure where they were. When we in turn insisted that Katie's registration is hers and as such should go with her for transfer of ownership, Diane at last found and turned it over to us, without signing it, so it was virtually useless, as we cannot transfer Katie's ownership to us.
Feeling uncomfortable leaving $295 dollars in cash with no kind of receipt given in return, my sister insisted on something in writing. Diane again felt we were being ridiculous and so stated as she grabbed a notebook off of the counter and handwrote a note that gave to us for a receipt.
Please see comments on pages 5 and 9.

4- Provide accurate medical records for each cat when ownership is transferred.

As stated above, no kind of paperwork was given upon transfer of ownership. Katie came to us with a defect known as Fluxating Patella. Julie asked and emailed Diane who the vet was that treated Katie so that our vet would know of any medications tried, length and severity of degeneration, etc. Diane gives no information asked for.
On 22 Aug 2000 Diane replies to Julie's request for proof of vaccination of Katie and Skimble in the following manner:
"I don't have proof of vaccinations. I, like most every breeder I know administers the shots themselves."
Never was a veterinary name given to us to contact for past medical records.
Please see section of veterinarian records on pages 11 through 16.

5- Provide a 5-generation pedigree for each breeder/show animal before it is transferred.

Neither of our animals are breeder animals, but then Diane had to ask my sister who the father and mother of our kitten were. I will not dwell on this, as the emails showing Diane asking for the parents have been deleted, so there is no way to show it without any doubt.

6- Withhold the registration papers on pets until a veterinarian's certificate of altering is provided by the new owner OR practice early spay/neuter.

Diane did do this. At the time of the request for the registration papers was when she asked for the parentage of the kitten.

7- Provide the registration papers to new owner within 30 days of receiving a veterinarian's certificate of neutering from the new owner.

Registration papers were received within a timely fashion. I would like to note that the agreement that Skimble ("the kitten") be neutered was a verbal one, as was all of our agreements. We neutered him in a timely fashion and then notified Diane that it was done.

8- Honor all guarantees made in the contract.

There was no contract to guarantee anything. Both of the Bengals we received from her were ill. Our one other cat was taken into the vet at the same time and had none of the fleas, ear mites, or stomach conditions that the two new ones did. Katie, as stated above, is afflicted with the genetic defect of a Fluxating Patella and has been treated with Prednizone and arthritis medication. We have had her X-Rayed to be sure of the diagnosis, as Diane refused to send any of the vet records Katie may have had in Washington.
The kitten has been diagnosed with a bleeding ulcer, which is easily aggravated. We buy the pine litter, as suggested by our vet, to ease the digestion on anything he may lick off of his paws after using the litter box. This is especially hard now that we are in Wyoming were there is no PetSmart. We have to make special trips to get this litter now. We buy him special food that helps with his digestion. Occasionally, he still has to take medicine as he starts bleeding or has a lot of pain when using the bathroom.

9- Prohibit sales to certain environments or to people with whom you are uncomfortable.

Obviously, this goes both ways. However, my sister was in love with Katie and had already sent money. By the time we decided we should wait to buy a kitten, she had already deposited and spent several hundred dollars and was very reluctant to walk away from it. As Diane was so unwilling to work with us, we decided to go ahead and get the kitten right away.
Now, two years later, we are much wiser in what to look for before sending money. The statement on the website is not an attack on India Ink but a statement of Julie's experience. Harassment is not the way to change a persons mind, especially for the better. Threats are an even worse way and both are against the law. Law officials, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation have been notified and are investigating the threats, and advising us on what steps to take.


The TIBCS Code of Ethics is posted on the website and at the end it states:

"I, THE UNDERSIGNED, HAVE READ AND AGREE TO UPHOLD THE CODE OF ETHICS AND THE BYLAWS OF THE INTERNATIONSL BENGAL CAT SOCIETY. I REALIZE THAT MY RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES AS A MEMBER IF TIBCS MAY BE REVOKED IF I DO NOT ABIDE BY MY WORD."

I am assuming then that Diane has seen and read these rules.

Rule 2 RECORDS- "I agree to keep accurate records of all matings and pedigrees and to register breeding stock and litters with at least one recognized cat association."

I have doubts that Diane complies with this rule strictly, as her questioning of the new owner of who the parents of the kitten are is not very professional. When we were picking up Katie, a question was raised that Diane needed to look into her records to find. She pulled out a spiral notebook crammed with handwritten notes and flipped through it in an attempt to find the answer. When we insisted on Katie's registration paper, she had to look through a box of papers to find it. She was not very organized, and none of us present were impressed. Later, when Julie emailed Diane to get Skimble's registration papers, Diane questioned Julie on who the parents were. Diane thought that Katie was his mother and we had to correct her, reminding her that if we would have taken one of Katie's kittens, we could have picked them up at the same time. She then wrote back asking who his father was, as she couldn't remember and thought that she had told us in former emails, and couldn't we look it up for her. It was unbelievable!

Rule 4 HEALTH- I agree to maintain a good standard of health and care including adequate room for exercise, regular grooming, clean quarters, and adequate food and water. Whenever possible, Bengals should be kept indoors. Where caging is unavoidable, the minimum size for individual cages shall be 4 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 4 feet high."

When we picked Katie up, there were kittens not yet ready to be sold. As none of the kittens not already claimed suited Julie, we decided to take a look at these other kittens, which was the litter Julie had been going to get a kitten from originally. They were in the basement, which was not well heated. As we descended the stairs, the smell of unclean litter box became very prominate. We entered a room which only had a high, small window which was covered, an unused bunk bed along one wall and empty shelves along another wall. There was a pan of food in the middle of the floor and several plates with what appeared to be dried blood on them scattered around the room.
It was chilly down there. I remember this clearly because I was glad that I had left my coat on when we were looking at the kittens. My sister is especially sensitive to the cold and one of the reasons we left before picking a kitten was that she was getting cold and wanted to go upstairs to think about it.
I recognize that females that give birth need to be separated, but the separation seemed very extreme to me. A cold dark room that did not look to be visited but maybe once or twice a day is not the ideal birthing environment.
The other cats were caged outdoors by the side of the house.

Rule 5 SALES- "...I shall ascertain that all buyers know how to care for a cat or kitten properly, and make myself available to give advice. I will give buyers an honest appraisal of a kitten's potential as a pet, breeder, or show cat. ...I shall provide a receipt for all deposits received which states what happens if they buyer changes his mind. A pedigree will be provided with pet kittens but registration forms will be withheld until the breeder receives a veterinarian's certification of altering. If a breeder does not want to provide registration or pedigree papers for a pet kitten, the buyer must be informed of that fact before purchase. Before a kitten is sold, it must receive immunizations appropriate to age. Kittens should be free of all external and internal parasites (worms, fleas, ear mites, fungus, etc) Breeders should supply written instructions on care, feeding and accommodations with each kitten sold."
Throughout the emailed conversation when Julie was trying to pick out a kitten via pictures, Diane focused on the mother and father more than the kittens. In one email sent 31 May 2000 she sends a picture of kittens and writes:
"Julie,
Okay...Here it is...
I don't expect you to pick one of these little rats yet...since you can't tell one from the other...
Diane"
No receipts for deposits or purchases were given freely for either cat by Diane. As stated above, a receipt for Katie was given only after coercion and then the only copy was given to Julie. Julie wrote up a crude receipt herself for the purchase of the kitten, because she felt so uncomfortable with Diane's lack of concern and even aversion of any kind of paperwork.
As far as the kittens being free of all external and internal parasites...ours came to us underfed and with fleas and ear mites. He also had an ear infection and was given antibiotics.
Katie's ailment was not revealed to us until a check had already been sent. Diane then sends an email on 02 June 2000 that states:
"Julie,
I guess I should tell you that Katie has been limping..
Bengals sometimes have a luxating patella..
Katie only starting limping when she became pregnant and it comes and goes...so that's why I got her spayed.
It's only fair to let you know about it..
It's not painful to her...it just that her patella slips in and out sometimes."
Despite what Diane believes, Katie is in a lot of pain and as it becomes worse, she sits in odd positions to keep her leg straight. The vet tells us that this is a genetic disease that gets progressively worse, and that Katie will never fully recover. We medicate her daily to help with the pain and swelling. She still has her bad days, but due to our constant attention and medications, she is now running and jumping again and can sit normal.

8- AGREEMENTS "TIBCS strongly recommends that all transactions be in writing. This includes stud service agreements, buyer's requirements, breeder's guarantees for kittens, leasing of cats, deposits for kittens, etc. TIBCS also recommends moneys be paid by check and that receipts be issued for all payments. If problems arise later, it is difficult to determine a fair course of action when agreements were verbal and cash changed hands without receipts."

No guarantees were given in writing. No receipts of value were given by Diane freely. Diane refused a check because it was made out to India Ink Bengals, yet there is nothing on the website, or in the emails that suggests it should be made out to her personally.
The second half of the kitten payment plus the shipping costs was paid with a money order. Objections and accusations that the money order was a fake were made. Cash was demanded instead.
Diane was rude, and condescending to both of us during our visit to pick up Katie. We wanted nothing more than to finish the transaction and leave. After our dealings with her to get the kitten shipped to us, we wanted nothing to do with her ever again.

When we went to pick up Katie, our Mom helped us out by driving us to Washington. She has volunteered a statement which I have scanned and will insert here.
Letter Page One Letter Page Two Letter Page Three Letter Page Four Letter Page Five Letter Page Six Letter Page Seven






I would like to clear up a few points in this letter. On page 5: "3 hours before anyone finally came" Actually, we only waited 1 ½ hours. It was about 3 o'clock when they showed up, which may have been were the three came in. On page 6: "They had the kitten locked in the trunk he was scared & starved & Julie just wanted to take him and leave." He was not in the trunk, just in the back of the car. He was starved and very scared and we were not allowed to handle him at all until Debbie and Diane finally decided a money order was acceptable.


We realize that you as an Ethics Committee have no control over what Diane Galpin does, nor can you make her undo what has happened. What we do ask of you is that you pressure her to make a public apology to Julie. At the very least, this apology should appear on the Bengals-L list, where Diane made Julie out to be a viscous person, among other things.
Diane should also make an apology in an appropriate form to Chris Starkey and the staff of 250x.com. The continued harassment of Mr. Starkey and his staff was in the least inappropriate and very unprofessional.
We also ask that you as an organization perform a thorough investigation of India Ink Bengal Cattery. I have been to several catteries, be they Bengal or other breeds, despite what Diane assumes. I was not impressed by hers. She brags to anyone that will listen that she has spent $18,000 on an add on, but whether it is for all of her cats or only her male depends on who she is talking to. We in fact DID see the add on and it was NOT worth $18,000. It was tiny and there were several cages that the cats were in, exposed to the outdoor weather. All of the cats were in cages when we were there with the exception of Becca whose kittens we looked at. The kittens were in the house, but none of the other cats.
She has admitted that the kittens are not socialized at all until they are ready to leave their mother. They are then taken upstairs and her husband puts them in his bedroom and "socializes" them until they are sold.
Her intentions as a breeder are called into question by her breeding program. She even states on her website that she had no idea what she was getting into or what the breed was about when she bought her breeders.
In the summer of 1995 while I was visiting my sister in Texas, my eyes caught an advertisement in the newspaper for bengal kittens. Not knowing what a bengal kitten was, I went to see for myself. I fell in love immediately with the wild spotted look of bengals. Within 2 days I was an owner of 3 bengal babies. Luckily for me, I stumbled upon a cattery that was and is known for their Supreme Grand Champion lines.

Finally, she readily admits on the Bengals-L list that she is not abiding by Washington law when selling the kittens, nor does she take it seriously, but it is only a "hobby" with her.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Bengals-L/message/20382


Thank-you for your help and consideration.
Coralie and Julie Crumrine