This website started its humble existence as a paragraph
on Katie's website. Many complaints were lodged by Mrs. Galpin and her
friends that this paragraph was libel, slander, lies and a list of other
names. There were outcries that Mrs. Galpin did not have a chance to "defend"
herself.
This website was thus concieved, to give all sides a chance to be presented.
The e-mails and guestbook entries that Mrs. Galpin wanted to be shown
are now available for all to see, as are e-mails from other persons that
wrote on behalf of Mrs. Galpin. You can see that any attempt to ignore
these emails did nothing to discourage them. Notice also how the email
addresses change, so that blocking the sender did not even work. |
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This website is our experience. There is no argument that Mrs. Galpin has
some happy recipients of her cats out there in the world somewhere. Her
treatment of us during and after the purchase of the cats is enough to
make us NEVER want to do buisness with her again. Her denial that the
cats were sick is enough to turn her into TIBCS. Her harrassment and bulling
techniques used to try and make us take down our websites is enough to
turn her into authorities.
We had a bad experience. I am not afraid to say that. I am also not afraid
to tell you why or what happened. This website is to do that. If you have
any questions, please email me. This is not an attempt to boycott Mrs.
Galpins cattery. It is an attempt to educate and prepare the innocent
buyer. Read through this. Find our mistakes and avoid them! Mrs. Galpin
is not the only breeder that these types of mistakes can be made with.
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This website is a written account of our buying experience with Mrs.
Galpin as told to the TIBCS Ethics committe. Everything written by us
is true and accurate to the best of our knowledge. If you know of anything
that is false in nature, please send a nicely worded e-mail and I will
look into it.
The following is a quick outline of the events of the encounter with Mrs. Galpin:
- Julie contacted Mrs. Galpin for pictures and prices for her kittens
- Mrs. Galpin sent pictures and she was crossed off the list of potential breeders
- Mrs. Galpin sent an email stating an exqueen would be given for free if a kitten was bought from her
- Julie contacts Mrs. Galpin to clarify her offer (was the exqueen FREE or were there other charges). Mrs. Galpin states she is free.
- A schedule for pickup is negotiated for early August when the kitten will be ready to go
- Break for a couple of weeks
- Mrs. Galpin informs Julie she can not hold up to the prearranged schedule.
The exqueen must be picked up within the next two weeks or Mrs. Galpin
will give her to someone else. Mrs. Galpin calls Julie at work to encourage
her to come early to pick up the cat.
- Our summer vacations plans are rearranged. Mrs. Galpin sent an email stating she needed payment before we picked up the cat.
- A check is made out to India Ink Bengals and sent through the mail.
- Mrs. Galpin informs Julie the exqueen has a condition known as Fluxating
Patella, but that it will most likely go away because she has been spayed.
Mrs. Galpin says she has had another cat with this condition and the
spay corrected it.
- Plans are made to go pick the exqueen up. Julie informs Mrs. Galpin we will arrive in town Saturday, as arranged.
- Mrs. Galpin sends an email saying she is going to a wedding that day. She then sends another saying she won't go.
- We arrive in town ahead of schedule. We call Mrs. Galpin to let her know, hoping we can pick up the cat and still give her time to go to the wedding that evening. There is no answer and a message is left on her machine.
- We find Mrs. Galpin's house. Nobody answers the door. We call again
and leave another message on the machine. We wait 1/2 hour before going
to meet the people we are staying with. Another message is left before
we leave for dinner. After dinner, we stop back by the house. It is
now time that Mrs. Galpin should be getting ready to leave. Still, nobody
answers the door. Another phone message is left.
- 11:30 P.M. the phone rings. Mrs. Galpin insists we come pick up the cat that night, as she does not want to get up early in the morning. We go over.
- Mrs. Galpin has a litter of kittens upstairs ready to go. The majority
are sold, but not all. She asks if we would not be interested in taking
a kitten out of this litter rather than the litter down in the basement
to save on shipping. We ask to see the litter downstairs first, as there are no marbles in this litter.
- We view the kittens downstairs. There are two marbled kittens. The
mother becomes very agitated about Mrs. Galpin handling the kittens.
We go upstairs to make our decision and to let the mother calm down.
- Mrs. Galpin asks if we would not be interested in a particular girl.
She points her out. Mrs. Galpin then tells us that the kitten looks
like she might rosette but that we probably didn't know what that ment.
- We wanted a marble kitten, but decided it would be easier to take
the kitten Mrs. Galpin pointed out and not have to worry about shipping.
We agree to take her.
- Mrs. Galpin refuses to sell her stating she may keep her for breeding.
- We ask if we can not wait to get a kitten as we may be moving and would like to be settled before the kitten is shipped, or if possible come get it.
- Mrs. Galpin refuses, stating she will not let the exqueen go unless money is put down on one of the kittens now.
- We go back in the basement and find where the mother has hidden the kittens. Mrs. Galpin finds them under a bed. She brings them out and we pick one.
- We get ready to leave and ask for the exqueens papers. Mrs. Galpin states we don't need them. We insist and she gets them for us.
- We ask for a reciept for the money left for the kitten and the payment for the exqueen. Mrs. Galpin states we don't need one. We insist. She quickly handwrites one and hands it to us.
- BREAK
- Pictures of the kitten we chose are sent via email by Mrs. Galpin.
- Early August. We begin packing so that we can move to New Mexico.
- Mrs. Galpin sends an email asking when we are going to come get the kitten.
- Julie responds telling her we can not come get the kitten as we are moving. We asked about shipping for this very reason. Mrs. Galpin asks where we want the kitten shipped.
- We ask for the kitten to be shipped to us either at our current location or in New Mexico, which ever would be better for the kitten.
- Mrs. Galpin informs us that the kitten can not be shipped anywhere due to heat embargos.
- Mrs. Galpin calls asking when we will be able to come get the kitten.
- Julie talks to Mrs. Galpin on the phone and asks if there is any way she can hold him until the embargos are lifted or until we are moved and can possible come get him. She said she would check.
- Mrs. Galpin calls and says there is a flight to Salt Lake City she can put the kitten on if we could pick him up. We agree.
- Mrs. Galpin calls and says she will not put the kitten on the early
flight as it would require her getting up VERY early or spending the
night in a neighboring town. When asked what the problem with either
of those choices was, she said if she did this she would not be making
any money on the kitten.
- Julie requests that the deposit be refunded until a more suitable time when we can come pick the kitten up.
- Mrs. Galpin states that she will only refund the deposit if the exqueen was shipped back. If we backed out of the agreement she would take us to court.
- Mrs. Galpin decides to let her sister visiting from Arizona take the kitten home with her and we would have to make arrangements to pick him up from her.
- Julie contacts Mrs. Angle to make plans to pick up the kitten. Mrs. Angle agrees to meet us in Saint John, AZ as it is close to the town where they are visiting.
- We arrive to the meeting place early. We eat luch while waiting.
- Mrs. Angle arrives an hour late and immediatly begins complaining
that they drove farther than we did. We were not allowed to touch
the kitten until payment was made.
- Julie hands Mrs. Angle the remaining payment in the form of a money
order. Mrs. Angle refuses it stating that Mrs. Galpin insisted on cash.
We assure her it is an international money order which is as good, if
not better than cash.
- Mrs. Angle makes three phone calls to Mrs. Galpin before the money order is accepted as payment. The reason for refusal was that they thought it was counterfiet.
- Mrs. Angle gets the kitten out of the car and hands him to Julie, then they leave.
- We drive back to our town and take the kitten to the vet. He is underfed, unnormally groggy, and has indications of fleas and/or earmites.
- Monday we take both cats to the vet. They are both treated for intestinal problems, although the exqueen is getting better as she has been under our care for a couple of months now.
- Julie requests medical records for both cats from Mrs. Galpin via email.
- Mrs. Galpin sends a list of vaccinations she gave the kitten herself with no mention of a vet's name or number.
- Julie requests the vets name and number that treated the exqueen. Mrs. Galpin does not answer.
- The exqueen is x-rayed as she is in a great deal of pain and will not walk. She is diagnosed with a luxated patella, and medication is prescribed.
- Our vet works with us to get the exqueen walking again, through medications and alternative medications.
- Our vet works with us to heal both the exqueen and the kitten of their intestinal problems.
- A letter is sent to TIBCS and to the Washington BBB outlining our experience with Mrs. Galpin.
- Our kitten is diagnosed with a bleeding ulcer and is given medication. His diet is strictly regulated.
- BREAK
- Websites are created for the exqueen and the kitten. A page is added
to the exqueens website outlining the Bengal breed and what to look
for in a breeder. Mrs. Galpin's name is added along with a VERY brief
account as to why we would not recommend her as a good breeder.
- Mrs. Galpin sends several emails stating she is being treated unfairly.
Her verbage includes threats to our wellbeing as well as her intent
to sue for libel and slander.
- The unwelcome emails are ignored in an effort to not encourage her. The threats step up and others begin emailing.
- A second letter is sent to the TIBCS, going into detail the experience and the threatening emails now being recieved.
- A letter is send by the TIBCS.
- Mrs. Galpin continues her email assult.
- Julie writes to Mrs. Galpin and outlines some terms on which they would both be happy.
- Mrs. Galpin sends back the email three times each time refusing the terms. She then accuses Julie of trying to blackmail her.
- An email is sent to Mrs. Galpin asking how she thinks things can be resolved. No answer is ever recieved.
- A revised letter outlining only the TIBCS Ethics violations by Mrs. Galpin is sent to the TIBCS.
- Mrs. Galpin recruits other breeders to begin emailing and making accusations of slander and libel.
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Briefly then, I will summarize the majority of the website and the links
you see below.
- Original TIBCS Complaint (2000): The
original TIBCS Complaint was sent in 2000, shortly after we had concluded
our business with Mrs. Galpin. The website had two addresses, and a
copy of this letter was sent to both. One came back and will be referenced
later.
- Letter to BBB of Washington State (2000): The
Letter to BBB of Washington State was also sent in 2000, the same time
as the origianal TIBCS Complaint. I could not find Mrs. Galpin as a
registered business at this time, but sent the letter anyway, in an
effort to alert the proper authorities that Mrs. Galpin did not do business
with us in an ethical manner.
- Original paragraph that appeared on Katie's
webpage: This is the origianal paragraph that appeared on Katie's
webpage. Katie's webpage has since been changed and this webpage takes
on all responsibility of telling our story.
- Official TIBCS Complaint: Mrs. Galpin's
contact in late 2002 prompted this Ethics complaint to the TIBCS. Mrs.
Galpin claimed that she had NEVER been turned in, which we knew was
incorrect. Still the incident may have been dropped if it had not been
for her harrassing and insulting e-mails and guestbook entries she continued
sending. You can view these by clicking the links below. Various authorities
were notified as the situation called for. A nearly-full history is
sent along with this Ethics complaint in an effort to show the committee
the full extent of our relationship with Mrs. Galpin.
- TIBCS Code of Ethics Violations:
This is actually a subset of the TIBCS Ethics complaint sent in Jan
2003. After outlining the history, these violations of the code of ethics
as found on the TIBCS website are stated.
- Witness Letter: The TIBCS
Ethics committe calls for a witness letter. This is also a subset of
the TIBCS Ethics complaint sent in Jan 2003.
- Harassing E-Mails: This is a subset
of the TIBCS Ethics complaint sent in Jan 2003. These are only a sample
of the E-Mails Mrs. Galpin and friends sent. These particular E-Mails
were selected as they pertained to this particular complaint.
- Guestbook Entries: This is
a subset of the TIBCS Ethics complaint sent in Jan 2003. Again, these
were selected to demonstrate the techniques Mrs. Galpin calls resolvement.
- All E-Mails: This takes you to multiple
pages. We have recieved so many E-Mails from Mrs. Galpin and her friends,
I have divided them up into monthly or bi-monthly pages to keep you
from being overwelmed. I have commented on most of them, and linked
them to other E-Mails so that you can see how contradictory they are.
- Terms and Response: This
E-Mail was sent in an effort to settle things down. Mrs. Galpin has
repeatedly stated that she wants resolvment, but as you can see, she
turns down any and all attempts on our part to do so.
- TIBCS Code of Ethics Violations Sent in
March 2003: This is a reply to the letter recieved by TIBCS about
the complaint sent in January. Only the Ethics violations are addressed
in an effort to cut to the chase.
- Red Flags We Should Have Heeded: This
is a page that lists the major red flags, why they are red flags and
how you can avoid a similar situation.
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If you have read the complaint before getting here, you can see Mrs. Galpin
threatened to sue every time she ran out of other ways to get her way. When
she began threatening in 2002, I did a lot of research. I have found several
good reference sites that I will list here. Keep in mind that either libel or
slander suits are only applicable if what is said or written is false in nature
and the person who said or wrote it knows that. Even though Mrs. Galpin did
not like what was said about her, because it shed a negative light on her business
practices, that did not make it libel.
Please let me state this once again:
No matter how damaging, insensitive, rude or inappropriate a statement
may be, the plaintiff will lose his claim if the statement is true.
Mrs. Galpin may think that she can scare us with lawsuits, but the fact remains
that libel only occurs if the statements are false in nature. She may not like
what is said about her because it is embarrassing or negative, but that does
not change what happened. Harassment, threats, lawsuits, spam, none of this
can change what happened before.
Would it take a court to decide that it was not? Would it have to get that far?
Could it get that far? These are the questions I pondered as I did my research.
The following links may be of interest.
Conclusions: Mrs. Galpin's lawyer never contacted us for mediation processes,
but then he is not required to. Some lawyers would rather go through the hoops
of taking a case to court, rather than act as mediator between two parties.
My understanding is that small claims courts in any state do not take cases
dealing with libel, slander, or trademark / copyright infringement, nor do they
undertake dealings that cross state lines. I believe that a Federal court is
the lowest court that can cross state lines. That isn't to say that someone
could not sue someone in another state, it just means that it is harder and
must have more meaning than a petty argument. Also, the burden of proof is on
the person that was allegidly libeled or slandered. I could be wrong on this,
as I am not a professional lawyer. Please do not use this as legal advice for
your own situation, only as a reference if you want to.
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