08/27/2018
UPDATE: We want to thank everyone so much for all of the support. We have contacted legal counsel to assist in putting a stop to the on-going harassment. Because we have done so, we will not be posting the name of the stalker or discussing anymore details of the case online. Thank you to everyone who has been calling the Town of Milford office. Although many of the phone calls are being handled by the actual perpetrators, eventually someone higher up will catch wind of what’s going on as the calls continue. We appreciate all of the kind words and we hope that they help our mother through this.
Samsara was Lynn Stark's dream - a dream to make a difference in the world. A place for unwanted, permanently-disabled and non-adoptable animals to find a place of peace and, if possible, a new beginning. Despite the troubles and heartbreak of such an endeavor, Lynn remained steadfast in her desire to help, adopting out those who could be, and providing care to those too disabled or elderly who were given to Samsara, simply as a place to be made comfortable for their last days on earth.
Last fall, whether the work of would be thieves or the work of some "animal rights" person, someone opened the double gated enclosure which housed Samsara's last surviving wolf hybrid, Yasha. Semi feral and untouchable, and some 17 years old, the timid, frightened dog fled into the night. Attempts to lure her back were unsuccessful and calls and messages were made to several agencies, searching for a live trap large enough to catch her. Yasha haunted the edges of the road near the only home she really knew as the hunt for a large live trap continued. People, well-meaning but unhelpful, began giving her food tossed out car windows and teaching her to lurk in the road, in case a vehicle brought sandwiches or other goodies, and unfortunately, removing the one lure we had to guide her into a homemade trap. She didn't need food. She didn't need home. Finally, a man from the warden's service did come by. He offered up a trap owned by a friend and he did trap her.
When he brought her back, Lynn expressed her fears that now, with a taste for freedom, the dog would seek to escape the enclosure that she had once been content in. The warden assured her that he could borrow the trap again if that happened. So with that reassurance, she decided to put her back, in hopes she would stay and be content.
Two weeks later, she scaled the 10 foot fence and once again took up the road as her territory. Calls to the warden for the trap went unreturned.
We are unsure of how the Milford Town Office became involved as we don't live in Milford, but get involved, they did. The woman from their office approached my mother, angry and utterly hostile about Yasha's plight. After several attempts to explain the issues at hand, the woman said that the Milford Town Office could get the wardens service to get a trap set and the dog taken to a rescue set up for such a case. Lynn told her that would be great. Over the next several weeks, the woman would alternate between screaming and yelling obscenities at Lynn and speaking in soft terms about attempting to gain the dogs trust. Lynn tried to explain that the dog had never trusted people even after all her attempts for 15 years. Then the woman would become angry and hostile again. She screamed about one of the livestock guardian dogs being chained to a dog house despite being told that although Yasha was used to dogs and scared of people, she could attack chickens. We explained that he was a deterrent but hooked because we didn't actually want him to be able to hurt her. She also ranted about the refuge and referred to the dog as Sara because she was and is convinced that Samsara is not a Sri Lankan word meaning a new beginning, but a combination of Sam and Sara, two hybrids of Samsara.
She continued to haunt the trap, sitting against it in rain and sun and dark, waiting for that special moment when the dog would collapse into her lap with trust and gratitude, a moment that never came and in fact delayed the capture as the dog became more and more nervous about the strange figure that constantly lurked. Any attempts to explain that even a lost pet should never be stalked in such a manner, brought only more screaming and insulting comments as well as threats.
Lynn accepts that perhaps she should have gone about it differently, maybe even put the dog down long before things went so far, but she, as always is soft-hearted and the idea didn't sit well after providing the dogs care for 15 years and other than the issues of being lured to the road by well-meaning people, she wasn't dangerous to anyone.
But now, it is what it is, and amidst warnings from the wardens service about any animal caught off Samsara's property, calls to animal control about personally owned animals, and the continued stalking and harassment from the Milford Town Office woman, Lynn feels beaten and afraid. The woman has assured any who will listen, that she is stalking my mother and her property to find the whereabouts of "Sam", the supposed other hybrid that Samsara is named after. At this point, no one has asked for paperwork on Yasha. Her whereabouts are unknown. We only know that she was captured and that this woman from the Milford Town Office has convinced people who don’t know Lynn that she should not be told where her dog has been taken.
" I'm 75 years old," Lynn said. "I will not be on this earth forever. I should be planting trees and gardens. I should not be up half the night worrying every time the dog barks that that woman is out there. I am tired of worrying. I am tired of being stressed. I give up. After more than 30 years in this community, my name is being ruined by a crazy woman who stalks my house looking for an imaginary dog."
So it is with a heavy heart, that the decision has been made to close the gates on Samsara. We are contacting legal counsel to ask the Milford Town Office to cease and desist. We hope that in the end, this property will at least be a place of peace and rest for its owner who has given so much to the community and people and animals in need. For a woman who has made the news, won awards, worked with ACO’s, police departments and helped so many, this is a heartbreaking way for things to end. We ask that anyone who knows Lynn and all that she has done, call the Milford Town Office and let them know how they feel about the stalking, harassment and defamation of character. It would go a long way towards helping bring this to a close. If anyone would be willing to write a statement, should this need to be settled in a court of law, please let us know.
We will be seeking appropriate homes for most of Samsara's residents and Cid's Bed and Breakfast will remain open until its current inhabitants are reunited with their owners. Any remaining funds held by Samsara will be donated to the Old Town Animal Orphanage, a more than worthy cause.
We would like to thank all the people who made Samsara possible and worthwhile. But to do it properly, we will do so in a separate post.
