MAHONING COUNTY Magistrate will rule on cub

The owners of Noah's Lost Ark have refused to return the cub.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- A magistrate is expected to rule today on whether a lion cub will stay at Noah's Lost Ark or be moved to a California animal sanctuary owned by actress Tippi Hedren.
Magistrate Gene Fehr of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court said he'll enter a written ruling on the motion for summary judgment filed by William Long without holding a hearing.
Long, of Upper Arlington, near Columbus, says he is the owner of Boomerang, a male lion cub born Oct. 4. He wants the cub to be released from Noah's Lost Ark sanctuary in Berlin Township so it can be relocated to Hedren's facility.
But owners of Noah's Lost Ark, where the cub has been since Oct. 12, have refused to let him go.
What lawsuit's about
Ownership of the cat is at the heart of a lawsuit Long filed in common pleas court against Noah's Lost Ark and its owners, Douglas and Ellen Whitehouse.
Atty. Michael O'Shea, who represents the Whitehouses stated in a 15-page motion in opposition to a summary judgment, that there is a "serious dispute" as to who bought the cub.
When Boomerang was purchased, Long, an animal activist, was with a reporter from the New York Post who was working on a story on how easy it is to buy exotic animals.
The motion from O'Shea states that Long was "just the fake purchaser of the cub." The motion states that the reporter put together money with the help of other individuals to purchase the lion cub. The money was given to Long, and Long used his identification to buy the cub from a breeder in Wapakoneta, Ohio.
However, Atty. Jeff Holland, who represents Long, stated in a brief filed in court Thursday that there is no law that states Long would not own the cub just because others contributed to its purchase.
O'Shea's motion further states that Long abandoned the cub when he gave it to the reporter shortly after the purchase.
Suggested taking it to facility
Long has said that he bought the cub with the reporter because he was assured that the animal would be sent to Hedren's facility. After buying the cub, he felt it was too young to travel such a distance, and an associate of Hedren's suggested the animal be taken to Noah's Lost Ark until he was old enough to make the trip, Long has said.
When the reporter arrived at Noah's, Ellen Whitehouse told the reporter that the cub was in bad shape and she wanted to make the animal warmer. A photographer from the paper then handed Whitehouse the cub, Holland's motion states.
O'Shea's motion notes that after the reporter and photographer arrived at Noah's, Whitehouse called the sheriff's department to document what was happening and also contacted a veterinarian. O'Shea's motion further states that the reporter left the facility quickly after the sheriff arrived so he and the photographer could catch a plane to New York.
Whitehouse testified in a December hearing on the matter, that while at the facility, the reporter showed her a bill of sale demonstrating that Long was the owner of the cub. She also testified that the reporter never said he was giving her ownership of the cub, Holland's motion states.
Holland's motion further states that Long contacted Whitehouse and asked for the cub to be returned but she refused.
"The appropriate remedy in this action is the return of the cub to Long," Holland's motion states.
sinkovich@vindy.com