None of the 16 cats seized from a Hartland resident’s home in November are still at the Animal Humane Society of Golden Valley, where they were taken after they were seized.

According to court documents filed last week, 11 of the animals were adopted. Two have been euthanized, and one has been transferred from the facility. Two were returned to the resident, Kim Jameson.

The Humane Society seized the cats from Jameson’s house at 515 Johnson St. during the search warrant undertaken by the Albert Lea Police Department after Jameson did not deliver all unlicensed cats to the city of Hartland, an appointed agent or a humane society within 10 days of Freeborn County Judge Ross Leuning’s Sept. 17 order for her to be limited to two licensed cats.

Leuning last week ordered the placed cats back from their new homes to the Humane Society to possibly be placed by Jameson at another no-kill shelter not in Freeborn County until he issues a ruling.

Animal Humane Society of Golden Valley supervising humane agent Keith Streff  questioned Leuning’s order.

He said the Humane Society held the cats for more than five days, longer than the facility was expected to house the cats pending the court disposition, and they were processed and evaluated based on age, temperament and other factors.

Streff said Jameson threatened to sue to get  the animals back, but he did not feel comfortable leaving the cats at the Humane Society for possibly months. He noted he has heard similar statements from people whose animals have been seized over the last 30 years and follows due process until legal action is taken.

“Bottom line is, we never received anything that said such until after the period expired,” he said.

Streff noted Jameson did not express displeasure when he informed her the other cats were going to be placed when he gave her two cats back. 

Streff said the cats were taken after she failed to abide by the city’s requirement, adding the facility does the best it can to place the cats into homes but admitted adoptions are not guaranteed.

Jameson said Monday the Humane Society should not have adopted out the cats or euthanized them until Leuning ruled on her motion.

She said though cats had been moved prior to a Dec. 20 court hearing during which she sought emergency relief from the seizure, the last two cats left the facility Dec. 23 and Dec. 28.

Humane Society of Freeborn County volunteer Dee Amberg questioned whether the cats being adopted and euthanized constituted tampering with evidence.

“Those cats are basically evidence in a case,” she said. “How can you get rid of them if the case is still open?”

Jameson agreed.

“They knew very early on that an attorney was hired and this court date was coming up, so right at that point, common sense, or (the Animal Humane Society of Golden Valley), the biggest humane society in Minnesota, should have known, ‘We don’t touch these cats until we get to this court date,’ but it was a mad rush.”

Amberg questioned why then-Hartland Mayor Deb Flatness did not call her to help house the cats.

“We could have maybe housed some, but we certainly could have reached out to other organizations locally to help,” Amberg said.

At a Jan. 11 hearing, Leuning ordered the cats to be kept alive prior to his ruling on whether Jameson could get cats back.

In disclosing what happened with the cats last week, city of Hartland lawyer Daniel Kolker noted the Humane Society seizes more than 25,000 animals per year and is required to follow Minnesota laws relating to disposition of seized animals. He said keeping the cats at the facility for a long time would set a precedent.

“The city of Hartland’s just trying to follow all the rules and regulations to protect the residents of Hartland,” he said.

Kolker said Monday he is unaware if Jameson will take any legal action, noting state statute says a court order remains so until it is stopped. A GoFundMe page has been set up on Jameson’s behalf.

He said he does not know whether the city knew when the cats were being killed or adopted.

“Mr. Streff, along with law enforcement and the entire animal welfare community, is concerned that the current proceedings in Freeborn County could set a precedent that would upend the established statutory process,” he said. “Circumventing existing laws related to the impound period of animals will lead to animals being held indefinitely at animal control facilities across the state.”

Kolker said the Humane Society “would be required to make judgment calls on impound periods in fear of potential litigation.”

“It would also cause anxiety with potential adopters, making it more difficult to place those animals in permanent homes,” he said. “All of which leads to the unnecessary death of animals.”

Kolker requested Streff be able to submit testimony of written evidence.