Velma Muessemeyer "Rabbit Lady" - Missouri

Mar 19, 2010: Judge Will Allow "Rabbit Lady" to Keep Some of Her Animals

By: Nathan Woodside

A judge will allow a Parkway Village woman known as the "rabbit lady" to keep about 50 of the 159 animals that the Missouri Humane Society seized from her last month.

According to court documents, Velma Muessemeyer will be allowed to raise 40 rabbits and two dogs, four chickens, four roosters, one duck and one guinea pig pending an inspection and approval of her property and animal cages by humane society officials.

All of her rabbits will be taken and she will have to obtain a new stock for her rabbit ranch, but she is allowed to keep 40 at any one time, if the humane society approves of the animals' living conditions. Her cats may be returned to her if their health is cleared by a veterinarian.

Besides the more than 60 rabbits she will lose, she also won't get back three baby goats she was raising in her home.

Muessemeyer also must agree to allow random and frequent inspections by the humane society during regular business hours, noted as Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Associate Circuit Judge David Tobben found that the animals, which included more than 100 rabbits, were properly seized by the authority of the search warrant and the animals will continue to be kept by the Humane Society of Missouri pending the stipulations outlined in the agreement..." More

Mar 3, 2010: 'Rabbit Lady' Tells Her Side of the Story

By Nathan Woodside

Velma Muessemyer says she doesn't have much use for a name.
"Everyone just calls me the rabbit lady," she said. "That's how everybody knows me."

She walked through a gauntlet of wire cages stacked on the porch of her dilapidated home on Monday. The cages were empty for the first time in nearly half a century.

She has little living family, no children and no husband.

Velma's love for animals runs deep, she says. She recently took in three baby goats who lost their mother. She let them live inside with her as she nursed them to health.

Nearly everyone has a story about the rabbit lady. She's sold the animals for decades as pets to children and as food.

She's also taken in animals from citizens who could no longer care for them.

At one time, Velma had more than 600 rabbits. Since then, she's cut back quite a bit.

Last Thursday the Missouri Humane Society's Animal Control Task Force and Franklin County deputies seized more than 100 rabbits, three dogs, five cats, a guinea pig, three baby goats, four hens, two roosters, two pigeons and two ducks from her home in Parkway Village, near St. Clair.

The human society said the animals were living in filthy conditions and were being neglected..." More


Mar 4, 2010: 'Rabbit Lady' Hearing Postponed

By: Nathan Woodside

The hearing for a Parkway Village woman who had more than 100 rabbits and more than a dozen other animals seized from her home near St. Clair was postponed Wednesday.

Franklin County Judge David Tobben granted the request to give Velma Muessemeyer, known locally as the "rabbit lady", another week to seek legal council.

The new hearing date will be Wednesday, March 10 at 2 p.m.

Nearly 20 supporters of Muessemeyer packed the small courtroom Wednesday. The woman said she has no money for a lawyer, but friends said they would help her raise the funds.

Thursday afternoon several people were seen loading refuse from Muessemeyer's property onto flatbed trailers and cleaning up her property..." More

Man Wants Cash For Ex-Wife's Seized Dogs

By Dennis Ferrier

FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- The biggest confiscation of dogs in Tennessee history took place in the heart of Franklin.

Jennifer Siliski was found guilty of animal abuses of every kind and sentenced to 10 days in jail. She had to forfeit her 230 Maltese dogs, which were valued at about $250,000.

Five years later, her ex-husband is suing Williamson County for the cash back for those dogs. But the people who brought those dogs back from death's door are appalled.

Juliet's legs were like raw hamburger. That's what happens when you live belly-deep in feces and urine. She is just one of the 230 dogs rescued by an army of volunteers who, five years later, are still paying enormous veterinarian bills.

Alan Siliski claims he cleaned the animals' cages sometimes and played with them.

Ann Logan sat through Jennifer Siliski's trial and wondered where Alan Siliski was then. She said he wasn't making big claims when the charges were out there.

"I can't imagine what his rationale is for five years after the fact," said Logan.

The vet bills for these animals are estimated at more than $1 million, all paid for by volunteers.

But even money couldn't save them all. Stewie's ashes are with the family pictures.

Otis was one of the smallest of the dogs. Five thousand dollars can't solve an abnormal heart, liver and kidneys.

"The little guy just didn't have a chance. He only weighed three pounds," Logan said.

The Siliski case has become the case talked about when trying to pass laws about puppy mills. It led to demand for a law forcing licensing, inspection and confiscation of any breeder with more than 50 puppies per year.

That failed because pet food companies were asked to add $2 per ton to pay for enforcement.

The final law forces licensing on breeders who have 20 breeding females, meaning the breeder has to have 200 puppies a year to be regulated.

Jennifer Siliski was accused of cutting the dogs' vocal cords so they couldn't bark and giving them Viagra and estrogen to keep them producing, causing cancer and tumors.

Just this fiscal year, Metro Nashville destroyed 10,000 animals at a cost of $135 per animal, amounting to $1.35 million..."  More & video

July 8, 2009:  Man Says Dogs Seized In Raid Are His

To learn more about this case visit Pet-abuse here