Prince Chunk Controversy: The Camden County Animal Shelter’s Story

Take Care of Your Cat has another update in the story of Prince Chunk (see Prince Chunk’s Adoption Follow-up and Prince(ss) Chunk and the Issue of Cat Weight. One of our contributors, Jenn, emailed a complaint to the the Camden County Animal Shelter about the contact and custody issues that surrounded the cat’s adoption by the Damianis family that were detailed in the Courier-Post. The Shelter quickly responded, sending us their official press release that, according to the shelter, the Courier-Post refuses to write about or include as a letter to the editor.

Camden County Animal Shelter Official Press Release

Prince Chunk represents the homeless animals that are in shelters across our country. 10,000 are euthanized each day in the U.S. simply because homes cannot be found for them all. Prince Chunk – a 10 year old “hard to adopt” cat – would have most likely been one of the unfortunate had he not ended up a celebrity. His notoriety saved his life and has brought national attention to the plight of homeless animals. Prince Chunk is not “just” a cat: he is the poster child for the millions of abused, abandoned, neglected animals that need our help NOW. His story may have been the inspiration for one person to walk into their local shelter and give a home to a cat, or dog, or other animal in need. His image is not exploitation: it saves lives.

The Damiani family was selected to adopt Prince Chunk based on their close volunteer relationship with the shelter, their background as responsible pet guardians and the quiet, peaceful home environment they would provide. Their son, Vince, a long time employee of the shelter, who plans to attend vet school, had suggested from the day he met Chunk that the cat would be a great spokes kitty for CCAS. He understood that bringing Chunk to some adoption events – along with animals needing homes – could generate adoptions and donations. He expressed in the presence of coworkers that his family, as the guardians of this famous cat, would very much like to bring this
special cat to those shelter events. John Damiani, his father, had already began building a giant castle that could be part of a display at such endeavors.

When shelter officials told the Damiani family that they had been selected, CCAS recommended that after his trip to NY, this cat needed a break from all the publicity. The family wholeheartedly agreed. New requests for media appearances would be turned down, although Chunk would still attend our August adoptathon along with dozens of our homeless animals. And, the location of the cat’s home would remain a secret, and as a result, the Damiani’s would remain anonymous. This would shield the cat from any further media frenzy and disruption…as well as protect his foster family, the Damiani’s, from any opportunist who might, for example, try to break into the family’s home just for a photo. The first step taken to ensure this privacy was when Vince and his mother Donna came to pick up their new foster cat, Chunk, which involved a covert operation to ensure that the cat was not followed to his new foster home. The transfer was a success, and I was followed home with my decoy carrier instead of the Damiani’s.

On Sunday, August 3rd, at the time they picked up Prince Chunk, the Damiani family willingly signed a foster contract. Having fostered for CCAS multiple times, they were familiar with the terms of this standard agreement. It was clear that Chunk would remain the property of CCAS at this time, although he would be in the care of the Damiani family, as is the case with all foster animals and their foster families. Chunk would undergo veterinary visits, and any medical problems with this unusually heavy cat would be disclosed to the family before making the adoption final. CCAS had every intention of adopting Prince Chunk to the Damiani’s once the cat was confirmed to be in a healthy and adoptable state as determined by the veterinarian and CCAS officials, via the standard adoption contract, along with an addendum of conditions to ensure the health and safety of this unique cat, some of which had already been verbally agreed upon between the parties.

However, the family’s immediate and persistent demands to finalize the adoption raised concerns of CCAS officials. Vince Damiani demanded a private meeting with me just one day after the transfer into foster care, and presented stipulations that were contradictory to those previously discussed. He told me that his family was uncomfortable with the shelter getting all of the fundraised monies, despite the normal terms of the fostering agreement. According to the standard CCAS fostering agreement, during the time an animal is in foster care, since the animal is the property of the shelter, all donations given on behalf of the foster animal go to the shelter, and are generally used towards the medical care of that animal and possibly others like it. At no time are donations given to a foster parent. The foster parent volunteers his or her time to care for the animal and uses his or her own financial means to provide basic care such as food and litter. Additional expenses such as veterinary care, basic medical treatment, and medications are provided by the shelter, and therefore do not burden the foster parent with any additional costs. Vince explained that his mother would be caring for and transporting the cat to events and must be compensated for her time, especially since she was currently unemployed. Vince mentioned that CCAS should consider insurance for the cat, which he should have as a celebrity. Vince announced his interest in starting his own nonprofit organization in the future, and the desire for some of the Chunk generated dollars to get it started. I listened and took notes, but did not think that it was appropriate at that moment to question the real intentions of the family. These requests were drastically different from the family’s original generous offer to give the cat a home and allow him to occasionally appear at events, with the intention of encouraging homeless pet adoptions and donations. I suggested a legal contract could be drawn up and negotiated to protect all parties involved, especially Chunk. Although resistant at first, Vince agreed and offered to submit the contact information for his family’s attorney. I supplied a draft of possible contract points to the CCAS board on August 11, 2008 as a “starting point”. On August 12, 2008, the Damiani family provided their attorney information to us. We made it very clear to Vince and Donna that like all contracts, this one would take some time to write, negotiate and finalize. In the meantime, the cat was safe in THEIR home as a foster cat.

For the next two weeks, members from the Damiani family contacted me on a daily basis demanding an update regarding the contract. Donna Damiani began to question the necessity of remaining anonymous as well as the need for a special contract, suggesting we just “trust” the family. I reiterated that the cat was safest without his location being made public. I reiterated the need for a contract to protect all parties, including the cat. Although they did bring Chunk to the adoption event on August 17, they arrived 45 minutes late, and then wanted to leave early, and complained that the set up volunteers provided did not meet their expectations. Then, on August 23, just 8 business days after their attorney’s information was given to shelter officials, Donna came to the shelter unannounced and insisted I accept a CCAS standard adoption contract on the spot. We are ot clear how she obtained this contract, as it was not prepared or provided by our Adoption Coordinator or any other approved shelter official. When I explained that we would not accept this standard contract, and tried to hand it back to her, she refused to take it from me. This invalid contract was returned to the family by certified mail.

CCAS is unclear why the family chose to take their most recent action of contacting the press on August 27th, although we suspect that their intention was to gain full and unconditional custody of the cat. The family broke our verbal agreement of anonymity, and violated our “trust”. They disclosed the cat’s location, despite our repeated discussions that putting him back into the limelight could endanger his safety. Their actions have resulted in a public outpouring –angry calls, faxes, and emails, disrupting our lifesaving operations, accusing the shelter of exploiting Chunk. These irresponsible and selfish actions have taken the focus away from Chunk’s message to adopt homeless animals and donate towards their care. They have taken away from the fact that Chunk is the victim here, abandoned by his owners, after being allowed to reach an unhealthy and dangerous weight. Instead, the focus is now on this family as the victims. WHERE was their concern for the other animals at our shelter when they created this unjust negative perception? The Damiani’s contacted the media. The Damiani’s invited camera crews into their home and disclosed the cat’s location, putting his safety at risk. The Damiani’s threw Chunk back into the limelight. The Damiani’s created this second media frenzy. Yet, they contend the shelter officials are the ones exploiting this cat, who has appeared publicly on behalf of the shelter just once in the last ## weeks. What are the true intentions of the Damiani family? And why were they in such an intense rush to finalize paperwork…when the cat was already being cared for in their home?

At this point, now that CCAS has become aware of this family’s intentions for Chunk’s future, it would be irresponsible to adopt Chunk to this family. Until Chunk is on the road to a weight more comparable to other cats, precipitating an adoption based on his personality rather than his novelty and possible financial gain from it, it would be irresponsible to adopt Chunk to any family. Only as a CCAS cat, can we monitor ongoing vet visits, diet adjustments, and other necessary means to bring Chunk to a healthy and safe weight. And while Chunk would still be a CCAS cat, we would recommend foster care as the safest place for Chunk to accomplish this goal. Our original intention was to keep this matter out of the media until the details were finalized, to ensure the safety of Chunk as well as his foster family; however, after recent media coverage initiated by the Damiani family, which was filled with inaccurate information, we felt the need to make the actual facts of this situation public. Based upon our initial adoption requirement, that Chunk is confirmed to be in a healthy and adoptable state as determined by the veterinarian and CCAS officials before officially being adopted to any family, in addition to the Damiani’s breaking of the verbal agreement with the shelter, resulting in the endangerment of Chunk, the sudden provisions the Damiani’s stipulated be in the terms of adoption, and the disregard for the other animals in CCAS’s care, we cannot in good conscience adopt the cat to the Damiani’s at this time. Furthermore, we request that they contact us immediately to discuss the future of the cat in their home as a foster animal after their recent actions. At this time, multiple calls to the Damiani’s attorney over the last 48 hours regarding this matter have not been returned.

Chunk’s weight and health will continue to be monitored. In the future, when Chunk is deemed adoptable by the veterinarian and CCAS officials, including being on the way to or at a healthy weight, permanent adoptive homes will be considered. In the meantime, while Chunk may make an occasional appearance to spread the word about the need for homes for the thousands of homeless animals in Camden County, Chunk will not be exploited for financial gain, and CCAS will continue to act in the best interest of this cat.