Last summer a very sad event was in the news concerning a boarding facility in Argyle, NY. Right in Washington County, Argyle is maybe an hour drive from our area. While the case involved dogs only, I want to write about my thoughts regarding all pet safety while boarding, and of course, specifically cats.

I’m sure most of you will recall the case; in August 2025, 21 out of 22 dogs housed overnight in a building (some called it a shed) on the property of Anastasia’s Acres were found dead in the morning by the owner, Anastasia.

I won’t rehash all of the details. You can Google the case and find many news reports. A plea agreement was arranged and the owner is on two years of probation. If she does open another boarding facility after probation, she is supposed to meet any national boarding standards that might exist and complete some kind of training. It’s all pretty vague.

The summary of the case is that 22 dogs were kept in what some people called “a shed,” in cages (or crates), stacked on top of each other. One large dog was free to roam in the building, that dog survived after emergency veterinary care. There were reports that the dogs did not have any water available to them overnight. The 22 counts against the owner of the facility were for “Overdriving, Torturing, and Injuring Animals with Failure to Provide Proper Sustenance,’ which is language from Agriculture and Markets legislation.

Again, I don’t have the investigation report, but various news articles make it sound like the boarding facility owner left the dogs unattended for around 11 hours. The reports state that the dogs were in the shed for the night, in August, with no water and no air handling. There was no air conditioning turned on (it was allegedly available), no fans, and I guess no windows were open.

There are some important take-aways from this case:

If you have ever read a news article on an event or topic that you have been involved with, you know that these articles often contain errors and misinformation. However, without filing a Freedom of Information request for the Washington County Sheriff’s report of the day the officers investigated the discovery of the deceased canine customers, I gleaned the following from reading numerous articles:

How does this relate to us as cat people? I think this case drives home some important points for all of us:

Even if you have an emergency and have to find boarding at the last minute, please do not just hand off your cat in someone’s driveway or lobby. Insist on taking the cat inside and see the conditions for yourself. If the person refuses, take your cat and leave. Ignore any excuses they might give. It is sad, but as we have seen, your intervention can mean life or death for your pet.

If the worst happens, no matter how emotionally damaged you are by the incident, your cat is worth no more in court than the cost of its adoption or veterinary bills preceding death at the hands of another’s negligence. That is an eye-opener for many.

As a direct consequence of this tragedy, and other local tragedies with pets, new legislation is underway in New York state. I’ll cover that in a future issue. I hope this article gets you thinking about how to keep your cats safe when you have to leave them under someone else’s care, especially while boarding. If you think of other concerns any of us should consider while boarding our cats, please share in the comments.

Rapunzel’s mom, Heather, wrote this moving tribute to Rapunzel:

Anyone who has been loved by a cat understands how precious and limited our time is with them. Over the years I have loved and lost five unique and special cats. Each cat had a different story and personality. Each loss was hard, but the memories and love shared is worth every tear. On May 15, 2026 at 7:20 AM, Rapunzel crossed the rainbow bridge. I thought I was prepared because we knew it was coming. However, Rapunzel’s loss has been extremely difficult. Maybe it is because I had Rapunzel for a shorter period of time, or maybe it is because we lost such a sweet girl. 

Rapunzel chose us. We originally went to Whiskers to see another cat. We didn’t feel the other cat was very interested in us but decided to look around the shelter. Before we left, we were invited to visit the senior room.  Rapunzel walked up to us and was so friendly. When I bent down to pet her, she acted like she wanted to be held. After I held Rapunzel for a few minutes, she climbed on Geoff. That is when Rapunzel stole our hearts. 

We did a slow introduction so Rapunzel would have a smooth introduction into our household. Rapunzel had a nice sunny room where I visited her often.  She spent her alone time snuggled on the bed, playing with toys, and laying in sun beams. After a week, I started introducing Rapunzel to her new sister and letting her explore our entire house. It didn’t take long before she lit up our house with her lovable personality. 

Although it was a rough start Rapunzel and Laika bonded. Rapunzel and Laika started to sleep near each other, shared play time, and rubbed off on each other. Laika’s love of hair ties rubbed off on Rapunzel. Rapunzel taught Laika to drink water from the faucet. Laika would ask for affection and Rapunzel would always comply by licking her head. Rapunzel took care of Laika and made her feel more comfortable being out around the house even when other people were visiting. 

Over the years Rapunzel greeted visitors at the door. She lit up our house with her vibrant personality. My best friend’s daughter, who is a dog person, said “I want a Rapunzel” after meeting her for the first time. Our pet sitters fell in love with Rapunzel and even brought her gifts sometimes. Rapunzel even participated in a few virtual meetings when I worked from home. 

Everybody loved Rapunzel but I was her favorite person. Rapunzel and I spent a lot of time together and our bond was strong. She loved being in my arms or snuggled up next to me. Rapunzel would see me off in the mornings and be waiting on the front entry bench when I returned. I talked to Rapunzel and she responded back with her soft noises and robust meows. I was there for Rapunzel when she needed love, play, and affection. I took care of her when she wasn’t feeling well.  Rapunzel returned the favor by comforting me with her love. Sometimes when I woke up from stress dreams, she would be laying on me or by my side trying to make me feel better. 

Although I was Rapnunzel’s first choice she did bond with Geoff. We snuggled on the couch as a family in the evenings. Sometimes when Rapunzel wanted my attention, Geoff would hold her until I was available. 

Roughly two and a half years ago Rapunzel was diagnosed with stage three kidney failure. Of course she refused all the prescription foods. I even tried low phosphorus foods available without prescription and she hated that just as much.  Knowing my time with Rapunzel was short, I did whatever I could to make her happy. I set up a cat bed by my desk for when I worked from home. I got up during the night when she asked for water and food. 

The last six weeks of Rapunzel’s life was difficult for all of us. Looking back, Geoff and I think Rapunzel entered stage 4 of kidney failure at the beginning of April. I think Laika realized something was wrong first. We noticed that she started watching over Rapunzel and stepped up to advocate for her when needed. When we noticed her health was failing, we took her to the vet when needed, and made her as comfortable as possible. I didn’t want Rapunzel to be alone so Geoff and I worked opposite schedules from home. I also took a lot of time off so I could spend every possible minute with her. 

When Rapunzel’s health declined quickly, we took her to Upstate Veterinary Specialties. It was hard to let Rapunzel go, but I didn’t want her to suffer. Coming home without her was difficult. Laika was watching the door. I notified family, friends, our vet, and Whiskers that Rapunzel passed away. We could tell Laika was mourning her sister too. After crying on and off all day, I had the urge to go out on our patio. Rapunzel was such a special cat she had to leave this world in a big way. I looked up and saw the most beautiful rainbow. Rapunzel will always be loved and never ever forgotten.