Support Taylor and Austin's Legal Battle

Our daughter Taylor and her fiancé Austin have been falsely accused of abusing animals by the Portage County Ohio Animal Protective League. Criminal charges were brought against her and Austin for animal neglect and the APL seized all of their domestic and farm animals. If you know our daughter and Austin you know that they would never neglect or abuse any animal. Because of the bogus charges that have been brought against them they have been forced to retain an attorney. He is doing his best to represent them, but they do not have the financial wherewithal to continue to pay him. If they are unable to continue paying their lawyer to represent them he will have to withdraw as their counsel and they will no longer know where to turn for help.

We as their parents are doing all we can to help them but between the cost of taking care of our daughters children together with the thousands of dollars in legal fees already paid to their lawyer, and faced with the reality that they will need to pay him many thousands of dollars more going forward, Taylor and Austin need financial assistance. That is why we have established a GoFundMe account and reluctantly reach out to our friends and others who may be able to contribute funds to help Taylor and Austin get through these unbelievable trying times.

For those of you who do not know our daughter or do not know her well, here is a little background: Since Taylor was a young girl she has had a love for animals unlike anyone we have ever known. From dogs, to cats, rabbits, birds, lizards, turtles, fish, you name it she wanted to love and care for them no matter the type or size of the animal. Over the years some of those animals were given to her as pets and others were rescues that were injured and in need of care and shelter. She nursed the injured back to good health. Regardless of whether the animal was domestic or exotic she loved them all and treated them all as though they were her own family.

She is now a young adult, has a fiancé, with 3 children. She and Austin own a home and they started a home and office cleaning business. When not working for their customers, they spend their time caring for and raising their children and their animals. They have 3 acres total on the property for all the animals to roam and thrive. Many of those animals almost all of them were rescue animals that were neglected, abandoned or physically abused by their previous owners. There is legal documents showing the charges against those abusers that taylor and austin rescued from. She and Austin took them in and cared for the abused and neglected animals, paying for visits to veterinarians or for veterinarians who made house (or barn) visits so that they too could become healthy once again. Their lives revolved around home, family and their animal family.

On June 26, 2024 that all came to a crashing end when their home/farm was raided by the APL accompanied by deputy sheriff’s from the Portage County Sheriff’s Department. She and her fiancé were held against their will and charged with animal cruelty. Their animals were seized by the APL and removed from their farm. The charges are baseless. The APL refused to listen to them and mistakenly believe that the whip marks, missing hair, goat limping from the cow, and one horse blind was falsely accused by taylor and austin. The APL disregarded the fact that the horse was malnourished while in the care of its original owner and that after Taylor and Austin brought that horse (only one of many examples) into their care it gained back over 200 pounds and was on a path to recovery. They have the feed and vet bills to prove it. The APL has an agenda that unfortunately Taylor and Austin cannot afford to fight.

This is why they desperately need your help. Please contribute what you can. If you cannot afford to do so, please keep Taylor and Austin and their animals in your hearts and prayers. Thank you for anything you can do to help.