Turtleboy Investigates

Investigating Westfield Homeless Cat Project, Part 1: Crazy Cat Lady Runs Questionable Cat Shelter, Takes Credit For Good Samaritans Spending Hours Digging A Kitten Out Of A Storm Drain So She Could Adopt It Out For $400

Who doesn’t love a feel-good, heartwarming story? Take for instance, this kitten rescued from a storm drain by a dedicated cat shelter in Westfield, MA:

 

WWLP:

“WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – A kitten was rescued from inside a gutter drain in West Springfield Thursday morning.

According to West Springfield Deputy Fire Chief Steven Manchino, a kitten was trapped in a six-inch PVC pipping that extends 20 to 30 feet into the ground behind the Dinn Brothers business on Interstate Drive Wednesday night.

According to the Westfield Homeless Cat Project Adoptions, the kitten, who they named piper, was rescued around 6:30 a.m. from a pipe that was six feet underground. The kitten was 30 feet into the pipe.

Bill Colson of Bill’s Sewer and Drain helped get the kitten out of the pipe.

Manchino told 22News that himself, and four other members of the fire department, spent two hours on Wednesday evening trying to get the kitten out. He said they popped manhole covers in the area, but could not remove the cat.

The Fire Department left food and dropped a rope with knots on it into the pipe so the kittens could climb out on their own.”

 

Heartwarming, isn’t it? Well, maybe it would be….if true. But the reality of the situation is a little different….

“So I’m going to set the record straight about the kitten that fell down the pipe behind Dinn Brothers. Feel free to share . So after the fire department valiantly spent a couple hours trying to get the kittens out and did everything they could I came across the first post in the picture section posted by Westfield homeless cat project and felt obligated to act . I immediately called and Denise from Westfield homeless cat project answered , she gave me the address and gave me a vague rundown of the situation and it was obvious she hadn’t been there first hand . So I did what any guy would do and called my best friend Tony Sorcinelli and explained the situation to him and I got there to pick him up around 830 and we then did our own assessment of the situation and were joined shortly after by 3 plumbers one of which was Garrett Richard from 1st American Sewer and Drain and another volunteer Danny Shenefield (Charlie brown) and a anonymous Dpw worker who came to help , They were all volunteering their time to try to rescue the kitten . after putting a drain snake with a camera down the hole we were able to determine that the pipe had either collapsed or was clogged and wasn’t in use anymore and we located the kitten about 7 feet down in the pipe which had no outlet and ran parallel w the building about 6-7 feet down . After diagnosing the situation the guys from 1st American called Denise from Westfield homeless cat project and explained the situation and there was no way to get it out without digging and cutting it out. Denise told us to leave the property. We told them we were staying and not acting under the direction of Denise and we weren’t leaving until we get the Kitten out. Around 10 pm all parties left except for Tony and myself . For liability purposes they decided to leave which I completely understand . So Tony and myself started digging . It was literally through rock and clay . We had to use a crowbar to dislodge the rocks because they were so stuck in the clay .Apparently word got back to Denise from Westfield homeless cat project who called the police on us and told us to fill in the hole after we got 5 feet down with another 2 feet to that kitten . We explained via the police to Denise who had her on the phone that we were only 2 feet from the kitten and it was almost rescued DENISE WANTED US TO BURY THE KITTEN ALIVE AGAIN and told the police to tell us to leave the premises . She sent her employee Paul with a crate for the kitten in case we had caught it because as Tony and I later found out that it’s nothing more than a $400 asset to them. Nothing more nothing less. So we started filling in the hole . After filling in about 2 feet of the dirt Michael Dinn of Dinn brothers trophies showed up and trumped Denise from Westfield homeless cat shelters orders and told us to get the kitten out . I promised him the hole would get filled in and the police vouched for our integrity to do so. So we dug a total of 6.5 hours till we reached the pipe in Spite of Westfield homeless cat shelters attempts to bury the kitten alive again . During this time Paul from the shelter watched us dig and literally did not lift a finger to help us .He seems like a ok guy but it became obvious to Tony and myself that they see the kittens and cats as a tool to make money and they were worried we would rescue the kitten and place it in another organizations care so he literally watched us while we worked and had his crate right next to him because god forbid afterthwarting our efforts to save the kitten we succeeded and it got placed in another shelter and they lose the $400 kitten and the press that goes along with it. So Tony and myself reached the pipe and we cut a foot long section out with the sawzall So the cat could get out and was free if it decided to make its way back the other way . the noise from the sawzall Scared it to the other end of the pipe . At that point it was 430 am so I contacted someone in Dpw I know and explained the situation and what they would need to finish the job . Basically you need a 100 foot drain snake to gently push the kitten toward the opening and it’ll only take about 10 min at the most to do so we just didn’t have a 100 foot drain snake . I told Paul my contact at Dpw had been notified and would get out there as soon as possible in the morning to finish the job and get the kitten. This proved to be a big mistake in my part because now they know that means west Springfield animal control would most likely be called and because of the Westfield homeless cat projects reputation they knew the kitten wouldn’t be placed in their care so they rushed to get another plumber out to volunteer their time before the Dpw got there. Kudos to the plumber who I don’t know but judging by the fact he took a photo of the cat with his business logo he did it for press and not because it was the right thing to do. Now Westfield homeless cat shelter leaves the scene with the kitten , doesn’t fill in the hole and the plumber who “Rescued” the kitten couldn’t be bothered to spend 10 minutes mending the pipe so obviously Dinn brothers were pissed because now they have a pipe that needed to be fixed and a hole that needed to be filled. Did Westfield homeless cat shelter fill it in or attempt to . Of course not , they had their $400 kitten and were ready to take credit for everyone else’s hard work while not lifting a finger. In fact they went to the police station when they heard the Dinn brothers were upset the hole didn’t get filled in and the pipe fixed and filled out a report stating we were responsible so we would be sued if they decided to go that route. Once we found they hadn’t done anything to fill the hole or mend the pipe Tony and myself as men of our word went back to Dinn Brothers that night to fill in the hole and fix the pipe .To someone who doesn’t know the whole story they looked like heroes and took the credit and will get donations because to the outside looking in they made it look like they actually did something when the only thing they did was make a post to draw attention to the kitten. The point of this post isn’t to take credit for rescuing the kitten, honestly Tony and myself don’t care , it’s to expose the shady business practices of Westfield Homeless Cat Project. That cat was saved in spite of them not because of them. There is no doubt in my mind if Tony and myself hadn’t taken the initiative and dug it out that cat would still be there and would very likely have been dead or drown in the pipe because it rained the next day. After some people heard through the grapevine about this I was also messaged by multiple people stating Denise and Westfield Animal project had trapped their pet cats and refused to give them back and people that volunteered there in the past stated any indoor/outdoor pet cat she traps and doesn’t return them to their owner even if they are microchipped. She basically flips them and calls it adopting . While I haven’t seen this firsthand at least 20 people who have either volunteered there or had their pet indoor outdoor cat trapped by them have messaged me telling me this so I’d say it’s pretty safe to say it’s true . I was told her reasoning is that if you allow your cat to be an indoor outdoor cat you aren’t truly taking care of it . The true reason is she sees the cat as an asset she can sell for a profit .DO NOT SUPPORT THE WESTFIELD HOMELESS CAT PROJECT IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM.

*** UPDATE *** I just want to make it clear I’m sure this organization does good as well. not all the workers are monsters and I’m sure their heart is in the right place but a lot of the things that have come to light in the comments and experiences like mine during all this are very concerning and disturbing to say the least .”

 

The TL;DR of it is, Westfield Homeless Cat Project put out this request for help recovering the kitten:
To which the above good Samaritan responded, and started digging for hours upon hours.
When the business owners appeared to object to the digging, the shelter’s owner, Denise Sinico, instructed the volunteers to stop digging and fill in the hole, essentially burying the kitten alive. This is reflected in the police report for the incident.
The cat was eventually recovered with the Dinn Brothers’ blessing, no thanks to Denise Sinico and her “cat shelter”, who didn’t want the town or animal rescue involved……
….So they could later put the kitten up for adoption, for a reported $400. Cash only.
When confronted with the facts being put out in a very public Facebook post, Denise went into full damage control mode, claiming to have no prior knowledge of what had transpired, despite being named in the police report, and the original post coming from a post made to her shelter’s Facebook page.
The deflection, the defensive reaction, the insistence that all she does is good, philanthropic work despite comments like this popping up:
Sound familiar? Apparently, according to one comment, the cat shelter was even a….daycare previously.
Where have we heard this before? 
This is a lot of information to process through, so this is going to have to part one in a multi part series. Tomorrow we’ll get into some of the allegations of the shelter’s adoption procedures, condition, and history. I’ve tried to reach out to Denise for comment with no luck thus far, though my messages might be in her filtered folder, to be fair. If she sees this and would like to comment, I can be reached at bristolturtlechick@gmail.com.
27 Comment(s)
  • Jolenesantucci
    May 20, 2021 at 12:57 pm

    I am so done with donations to WHCP! Thank you brave guys for writing all this on the internet and exposing her. You guys worked hours and hours to get this kitten out and she wanted to bury the kitten alive! Thank you for exposing her! Disgusting and unconscionable! What a racket you got going Denise! Tony Sorcinelli and your friend(don’t know his name) and Dinn brothers are fantastic men with big hearts! You never gave up on this kitten! 400.00 per cat/kitten,greedy racket! Thank you so much for exposing her and God bless you a million times for hours of work and wouldn’t give up for anyone to save this kittens life. Too bad she has this kitten after all you have done. WHCP pathetic and greedy!

    • Been There
      May 20, 2021 at 2:06 pm

      Yeah, I’m sure you were a major contributor.

  • Chloe
    October 5, 2019 at 11:22 am

    Where’s part two!?

  • Anonymous
    October 4, 2019 at 12:16 pm

    Yea good to see that he’s paying child support now even though he told the court he doesn’t have a job and no reportable income…. A real man

  • Carol Sawyer
    October 4, 2019 at 10:51 am

    Look into what this place does with older cats that they can’t get rid of. Dump them in every surrounding town. Its all great, they have people stop by and dump food on the ground where they leave the cats, no shelter, no shots, no give a shit for the neighbors.

    • Been There
      October 4, 2019 at 11:08 am

      Not true.

      • Carol Sawyer
        October 14, 2019 at 5:06 pm

        oh really, how about the cats behind the chicopee McDonalds? that’s one cat dump. Or by the solar field in Chicopee, you know the place with the fence cut open… there are multiple places in Chicopee, Springfield, Holyoke , and Westfield these crazy loons dump cats they don’t sell. Dirty fleabags..and that just the woman who run it. Crazy Anna Zinna, Linda Slowick and Me. Check out our facebook pages.

  • Not worth it
    October 3, 2019 at 6:51 pm

    Cats suck! They ruin homes. My friends house burned down when a cat clawed wires in her electric blankets exposing them. Some don’t even catch mice they just lay there like an idiot i’ve seen it. Cat people get warnings at work about their clothes smelling all the time and even get fired. Plus they make some people really sick toxoplasmosis and allergies. Spend money for that? Id spend money to get rid of them.

  • Been There
    October 3, 2019 at 11:18 am

    Denise may be a smoker, but cigarette smoke is not harmful to cats. She only adopts to white people with no children because they have stable homes and incomes and will not use the cats as bait for dogfighting. Sick animals do not need to be kept away from healthy ones, as all sick animals are put together. They are cats, not dogs so you can put 4 to 5 in one cage. Cardboard boxes are fine to use as litter boxes and the urine smell is normal, just as keeping them in a drafty garage because the cages are all covered in blankets. Dollar store petfood is perfectly ok, and nothing wrong with returning donated items to stores for store credit. Letting your cats outdoors IS animal abuse and you don’t deserve to have them so yes denise traps them to save them and no, she does not have to return them to their owners. Even though she recieves extremely discounted vet services, it is ok to charge 400 for kittens because kittens are most wanted.

    • Been There
      October 3, 2019 at 11:35 am

      Hi JP! How’s that hate thing working for you?

    • Been there too.
      May 20, 2021 at 2:12 pm

      Full of shit.

  • Denise is a cunt
    October 3, 2019 at 10:32 am

    Denise SINico is a flipper and thief who abuses these cats. Kept in overcrowded filthy cages, place reeks of piss and cigaretts. Breeds the cuter cats to flip as kittens. This lowlife scumbag doesnt work, her work is driving around neighbirhoods looking for cats to trap. Read the reviews on google. Its insane. Im surprised the sjws havent fou d her yet as she only adopts to rich white rubes who dont ask questions.

    • Been There
      October 3, 2019 at 10:49 am

      I’d suggest anyone reading BS like the comment immediately below to visit WHCP and see for themselves. All lies, and just two people are behind them.
      No cats are being abused, and no one has to drive around looking for stray cats. Sadly, because people don’t seem to consider their pets a lifelong commitment, so many are brought to shelters when they no longer fit the lifestyles of their owners.
      They receive prompt veterinary attention. They’re clean and well cared for until they’re adopted.
      I’ve actually been there on several occasions, unlike the people spewing hate.

  • Been There
    October 2, 2019 at 4:27 pm

    So, Turtlechick doesn’t “have time” for a phone call “as of right now” and will only accept an emailed comment from the Westfield Homeless Cat Shelter. Way to go, Turtleboysports.Is that what they’re teaching in j school?

  • Been There
    October 2, 2019 at 11:16 am

    Denise Sinico has been trying to reach Bristolturtlechick for two days… please get back to her?

    • Linda Slowick
      October 14, 2019 at 5:13 pm

      Turtlegirl only takes phone calls from White people, not white trash. Dirty cat lady nobody likes you.

  • Lisa flood
    October 1, 2019 at 4:09 pm

    Wow that escalated really fast. Bad kitten people, people smuggling Vapes in kittens, and shooting bears out of trees.

  • Been There
    September 30, 2019 at 9:51 pm

    Adopted a “free” kitten recently? Cost of spay/neuter: $150-200. Testing for feline leukemia and feline coronavirus: $50. Vaccinations: $60-75. Worming and flea meds: $35. WHCP charges $350 for a kitten. That leaves a “profit” of $65 at the high end. (Forget food and utilities). Adult cats are adopted for $100 so no profit there. So how does it work? Lots of volunteers, and people who know the good work WHCP does and donates when, for instance, an injured animal needs complex surgery.
    Adopters are screened carefully. Some don’t make the grade (renters without landlord’s permission is one reason.) People who get turned down often take it personally and like to use social media to settle their grievances.

    • The cat lady
      October 1, 2019 at 1:49 pm

      Um no. MSPCA does neuter, shots, chip for $10. I didn’t want to wait so I found a clinic and got my cat neutered, shots, chip for $75. An $11 bag of food lasts over a month. Litter is pricey if you are like me and keep up with the boxes. If you are paying for all your shots separate and the neuter that’s your own stupidity

      • Been There
        October 1, 2019 at 2:44 pm

        MSPCA’s neutering program and programs at other low-cost clinics are subsidized for low-income residents by the Massachusetts Animal Fund, which is funded by Massachusetts taxpayers. I’m glad you were able to take advantage of it.
        FYI, the MSPCA shelter and hospital pulled out of Western Massachusetts a number of years ago. To have your animal neutered by MSPCA you would have to travel to Boston or Cape Cod.

  • ncfoothillbilly
    September 30, 2019 at 7:30 pm

    Waste of time…cats are half a step up from rodents. Feral cats get a dose of lead in the rural areas. Sorry, animal lovers, but theyre a nuisance (theyve killed numerous free range chicks Ive had over the years). Deer, coons, skunks, possums, etc all receive the same treatment.

    Who in their right mind would pay $400 for some kitten that could be had for free, easily? Shit, Im in the wrong bidness; maybe I should start exporting kittens to you guys (and smuggle vape refills in their stomachs). hmmmmmm…

  • WeRFucked
    September 30, 2019 at 7:08 pm

    The cat is cute!

    Thanks to everyone who may have saved his life with no ulterior motives other than that.

  • whatevuh
    whatevuh
    September 30, 2019 at 6:19 pm

    oh, another multi-part series that nobody gives a shit about . . . count me out !

  • WS Finest
    September 30, 2019 at 6:02 pm

    Just for the record: TONY SORCINELLI shot and killed a harmless bear cub stuck up in a tree a few years ago while walking his dog. He’s also a no show deadbeat dad to 3 kids. Search for the article and see for yourself. He’s a piece of trash.

    • Informed
      October 1, 2019 at 9:21 am

      A dead beat dad that pays 2000$ a month in child support and has 50% custody of his kids , coaches his kids and is a great dad .Sounds about right .

      And for the record there was a nuisance full grown bear in the neighborhood going through his trash . His wife let her small dog out to the bathroom at dusk and the bear was rummaging through the trash . The dog started barking at it and the bear and his wife started screaming . It had no fear of humans or the dog and if you know black bears even a small dog will chase it off. He looked out the window and saw the dog and his wife were between the garage and a retaining wall with the bear turning it’s attention to the dog so he grabbed his gun. He ran downstairs and when it made a move toward the dog he was forced to shoot it. It ran up a tree after being shot and fell out of the tree soon after dead. The Environmental police and Police found nothing remotely wrong
      Maybe you should check your facts.

      • Anonymous
        October 2, 2019 at 7:12 am

        Haha he has 50% or his parents have 50% ???

        • Informed
          October 2, 2019 at 1:27 pm

          He owns several properties to my knowledge and just manages them on his days without the children .from what I have seen so has custody of his children from the time they leave school every day because he devotes all his time to them when he has custody .Nice try though

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