Published July 19, 2006
DADE CITY – The great cougar caper continues.
The owner of a wildlife sanctuary in Spring Hill is suing his estranged wife,
alleging she stole a South American cougar from the property, tried to make
off with a Bengal tiger and froze an $80,000 account the sanctuary needs to
keep running.
in damages against his estranged wife, Lisa Schafer, according to the suit
filed Tuesday. The suit also names Wachovia Bank, which froze the sanctuary’s
account amid the controversy.
the sanctuary property and order the bank to release the sanctuary’s money to
Moore alone.
investigate a report of a stolen cougar. The Sheriff’s Office has not released an
incident report or made any arrests.
cared for. She and at least two other people went to the sanctuary while
Moore was away and loaded Sheene, the cougar, into a cage. They tried to get
Misty, the tiger, off the property too, but someone called 911 first.
He says Schafer “and her cohorts” took the cougar and some equipment and left
the gates open so another man, Douglas Rosen, could come later for more
animals.
potentially fatal to tigers. The dose left Misty with stiff legs and convulsing
uncontrollably, the suit says. She is recovering and remains at the
sanctuary.
into a new account after discovering Schafer and her boyfriend tried to
withdraw money, the suit says. Since then, Wachovia has frozen the account until
the matter is resolved.
now, every last cat will eventually be stolen … and (the) sanctuary will be
forced to close its doors forever, thus depriving Pasco County, the State of
Florida and the United States of America of a truly treasured site.”
(http://www.sptimes.com/2006/07/19/Pasco/Cougar_case_growls_in.shtml)