Gotier Siamese Complaint Details

July 10th, 2017

Tia Gonnella

4290 W Fork Rd

Cincinnati, OH 45247

Ms Deleah Sims 

Regulatory Specialist III

Division of Consumer Services

2005 Apalachee PKWY

Tallahassee, FL 32399-6500

RE: 1705-19166/DJS

In response to Mr. Pelletier’s defense; I would like to point out the following discrepancies:

Mr. Pelletier states: 

Please note the date of the orders that he provided as “support” –the most recent order was placed on May 11th, 2017—24 hours AFTER I received the kittens [I received them on May 10th]—so that order only supports the theory that he ordered this AFTER receiving my email regarding the kittens arriving riddled with fleas on May 10th and perhaps the only reason fleas were not discovered during the USDA visit, if his claim is valid. [ATTACHMENT 1]

The only other order Mr. Pelletier provided as support was for (6) individual applications [one-month supply] of flea medication purchased in November of 2016.  By his own account, Mr. Pelletier had three litters of kittens born in January of 2017 not to mention their adult parents under his care.  His own records demonstrate that his flea medication supply was insufficient to have covered treatment for more than ONE cat from November to May, much less three litters of kittens over the course of 5 months.   

Regarding the registration discrepancies; Mr. Pelletier provided me with multiple dates of birth for the kittens. [ATTACHMENT 2] He also provided two different Dams. [ATTACHMENT 3] The follow up I performed with the CFA provided equivocal answers relevant to their lineage. [ATTACHMENT 4] And despite Mr. Pelletier alluding to the fact that my interest in their pedigree was indicative of an intent to breed---It’s a ridiculous statement and one that willfully omits the TRUE reason behind my inquiry.  In short, the impetus for the pedigree request was the recent death of my beloved Siamese and his associated genetic conditions of which I was unaware. Ancestry, including genetic conditions can be researched on a website if the cats are registered with the CFA. When I could not find the first mother [Dam] provided {Gotier Catseye Brighteye] nor the father [Sire] [Nureyev] I contacted Mr Pelletier. I was provided a different mother [Gotier Kinta] at that time (along with an accusation of ulterior motives to breed to which I responded via email [ATTACHMENT 5]).

Regarding Mr. Pelletier’s statement “ The kittens were indeed fully vetted and health certificates issued on each”   To be clear, the kittens were seen, according to Dr Brandon Cox, on March 31st and were NOT seen on May 3rd as indicated by Mr. Pelletier [ATTACHMENT 6].  Mr. Pelletier stated explicitly in an email dated May 3rd at 8:18 am that he was told by his veterinarian that he would “need to secure two new health certificates” as the original ones issued March 31st would be expired and would not be accepted by the airline. He goes further to state that the airline requires the health certificates be issued within 10 days of a flight. In a subsequent email on May 4th, he mentions the paperwork must have been mixed up when he “took” the kittens in to get their health certificates and the health certificates were dated 5/3/2017 [ATTACHMENT 7].  

Additionally, I have been in contact with another buyer who purchased a kitten from Mr. Pelletier a month prior to my purchase. According to her account, she did not have any issues with the transaction, however; when she took her kitten in for a vaccine booster, the kitten had a severely adverse reaction that rendered him paralyzed for 5 days. This type of reaction WOULD have been noted had the kitten been vaccinated prior to the day that the buyer took him in for his booster shot.  It would have been recorded and administration of that booster would have been contraindicated. While there is no proof that Mr. Pelletier did not vaccinate his kittens, it would be a fair assessment, based on his actions thus far, to assume he did not. 

Mr. Pelletier also states  “ The buyer wrote to me to delay their transport to accommodate her schedule”  If Mr. Pelletier was suggesting that the health certificate was not valid as a result of my request to delay –please see the attached document showing his confirmation of receipt of funds on Friday 5/5/2017. [ATTACHMENT 8] While he was willing to fly them out at that time, I was out of town and was not going to be back in town until that following Wednesday [3 business days after he received funds].  The health certificate was invalid regardless of that “delay”. 

Regarding the DOB discrepancies: I was provided the following dates of birth for the two boys: 1/3/2017, 1/16/2017, 1/26/2017 and 1/18/2017.   This added to the confusion created by the lack of registry and multiple versions of the homemade pedigrees but only posed a problem when I was at my vet’s office and they were attempting to determine why the kittens had not been given their boosters nor rabies vaccine. At this time I provided the documentation Mr. Pelletier sent with the kittens which was contradictory to what I had written down for their DOB upon arrival [because I was going by the first pedigree provided]. When I followed up with Mr. Pelletier about the DOB discrepancies, he provided yet another and another. [ATTACHMENT 2]. 

Mr. Pelletier states “Not only is this buyer attacking me and my reputation, she attached my Veterinarian whose exemplary reputation is beyond reproach” 

I never sought to attack anyone’s reputation and personally corresponded with the Veterinarian referenced.  He was very kind and forthcoming.  Never once did I make any accusatory statements nor launch any “attack” of any sort [ATTACHMENT 10].  

Mr. Pelletier states “Whether the wet cat in the 3 photos posted is from my home or not, I certainly cannot confirm. No further comment as I know that is not my kitten”.  Not only is that a ridiculous statement, but Mr. Pelletier goes on to lay claim to the SAME kitten in a picture when he is healthy stating the images of the kittens “represent years of concerted effort on my part to better the breed through the infusion of genetic diversity”  –OR they represent what the kittens COULD have looked like if they were provided adequate care and preventative flea treatment—not to mention that the pictures he references were taken nearly two weeks after being treated for fleas and on a steady course of Clavimox.  Yes, MY kittens will NEVER look like they did when they arrived.  

Mr. Pelletier also contests my statement that the kittens were “LITERALLY COVERED WITH FLEAS AND BLOOD”: please see the attached documentation from my Veterinarian who saw them on the day I picked them up from the airport. [ATTACHMENT 9]

Mr. Pelletier questions “the entire situation”, but does not offer any logical motive behind my actions.  I have never requested a refund from Mr. Pelletier, nor have I requested compensation to which consumers are entitled under the State’s Lemon Law for the Veterinary expenses I have incurred as a result of this situation. Nor do I intend to do so. My efforts and concerns are centered on the cats and kittens that remain under his roof and are subject to inadequate care.  I have no ulterior motive for this pursuit other than a deeply seated love for animals. 

Mr. Pelletier also references his reputation in the breeding world over the past 40 years; a statement with which I agreed as I vetted him thoroughly prior to purchasing, UNTIL I received my kittens in a heartbreaking state of neglect. It was his choice not to treat the kittens for fleas. It was a choice to present a false document to the airline and to misrepresent the care he provided prior to selling the kittens.  A man can do a good deed every day for 40 years, yet it is a willful act of wrongdoing that will define him going forward. His acts were not the result of his “senior status or poor typing”, he didn’t accidentally misrepresent the date of the health certificate—he did so to cut corners and avoid the 185 dollar fee he would have been charged. THAT is the ONLY financial motive in this whole scenario-HIS. 

In summary, Mr. Pelletier did NOT provide the kittens with preventative flea treatment. By his own account Mr. Pelletier housed 3 litters and their parents at the time my kittens were born on one of 4 dates in January yet he has provided proof he only purchased a supply sufficient to treat one cat in the prior 6 months.

The excuse of “senior status” does not justify the exorbitant number of discrepancies in the documentation provided by Mr. Pelletier. Most importantly, the date on the health certificate was not the date it was issued, nor the date the kittens were seen. This documentation was a government document and fraudulently passed off as current/issued within 10 days to American Airlines—a foreknowledge Mr. Pelletier explicitly stated in his email.  My kittens suffered as a result of his choices and this neglect poses a threat to the welfare of any animal under his care. 

Sincerely, 

Tia Gonnella