Unfiltered Camels Will Kill You

Another stupid animal hoarder managed to kill herself with the wild animals she was collecting.  Cathie Ake turned her expansive tract of land on the Florida Panhandle into a ridiculous assortment of pets and wild animals, some of which she carried with her on her job as a social worker.  She claimed that carrying a lemur with her was “animal therapy” as if that would make kids feel better about living in a broken home.

As if having lemurs, pomeranians, midget horses, dwarf goats, saudi arabian foxes, wallabies and coatimundies weren’t enough to handle, Cathie really wanted a camel.  Once she got her camel, she called the local TV news station to brag about what a good person she was for “rescuing” animals such as a camel. 

Imagine the horror the News Reporter felt when the camel kicked Cathie Ake in the guts and then sat on her to squish her! 

From the NewsHerald here:

Cathie Ake was still getting to know her pet camel when it killed her Sunday.

Driven by a passion for unusual pets, Ake had decided the desert mammal would make a nice addition to the family farm, a 15-acre menagerie in Wewahitchka filled with coatimundis, wallabies, lemurs and all sorts of other exotic creatures.

“She’d been wanting one for I don’t know how long,” said Donnie Ake, her husband. “And I finally gave in.”

So three weeks ago, the Akes bought Polo (the camel) at an auction in Central Florida. He was 4 years old, weighed nearly a ton and seemed a bit randy.

They put him in a pen — about 50 feet by 80 feet — and started spending time with him. Photos show the camel standing passively with his new owners, even passing out a few gentle smooches.

“He’s a love,” Cathie said at the time. “He’s just the biggest love.”

She and her husband started Mini-Akers Exotic Animals nearly 10 years ago, out of a love for animals and a need to share them with others.

“My wife did a lot of rescue,” Donnie said. “She wouldn’t let an animal suffer.  We might not have food in the house, but she made sure they had something to eat.”

Polo’s arrival made news, first in the Port St. Joe paper, then with WJHG News Channel 7.

The station sent a reporter to the farm Sunday to interview Cathie and get footage of the camel. The reporter had finished the interview and was setting up her camera outside the pen when Cathie went inside to move Polo.

The camel kicked her, then sat down on her. The reporter dialed 9-1-1. She was dead.

So a loony animal lover has now become carbon neutral.  Her husband is getting rid of the camel.  Another animal hoarder story is here.