Honn’s fight for animals is over

Wednesday, Jan. 22, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

Last Saturday, Betty Honn, suffering from a long bout with emphysema, sat up in bed at her animal sanctuary and enjoyed a bowl of soup with her daughter, Teresa Johns.

Her years of fighting the federal government over her care of exotic animals ended last November with an out-of-court settlement. Honn finally was at peace and was looking forward to continuing her lifelong fight to improve the quality of life for abandoned creatures.

"Mom talked about our big plans -- she was very optimistic," Johns said, recalling Honn's deathbed wish that her refuge at 1442 Bermuda Road in Henderson expand to include a habitat where wild beasts can live in a more natural environment.

"She looked back on her life and was satisfied. For Mom it had been one fight after another. In the end, she got to concentrate just on taking care of the animals. That's all she ever wanted."

Betty Lou Honn, who sheltered tens of thousands of abandoned pets and countless hundreds of homeless people, whom she put to work and helped return to society, died Sunday in her sleep at her home at the animal sanctuary. She was 59.

"I was a bum when I met her -- she brought me out of the gutter," said Bill Elder, 50, foreman of the sanctuary for the last 13 years. "Betty taught me not only about caring for animals but about people and life. I hope to work here for the rest of my life and continue Betty's work."

Services for Honn, a 43-year Southern Nevada resident, will be 9 a.m. Thursday at Davis Paradise Valley Funeral Home, 6200 S. Eastern Ave.

"We're going to keep things going," Johns said. "We will upgrade the facility as Mom always wanted to do."

Honn's 19-year-old sanctuary closed in mid-December 1994 after she did not submit an application for renewal of her U.S. Department of Agriculture exhibitor's permit.

Following two years of battles with federal officials -- litigation which drained her limited financial resources -- Honn agreed to block the exotic animals from public view in exchange for the USDA dropping allegations of improper animal care and poorly kept grounds.

Throughout the closure, which ended last November, Animal Adoption Ltd., a service founded by Honn, continued to find homes for unwanted pets. It remains the refuge's chief source of income.

"For years, I've been the aspirin for the public's headache when it comes to getting rid of their unwanted animals," Honn said in a 1995 SUN interview. She noted that people often left their pets tied to her gate without so much as a bag of food or a cash donation to offset the cost of caring for them.

Over the years, Honn took care of dogs, cats, pigs, lions, tigers, bears and numerous other animals, including a lame 25-year-old Asian elephant named Jenny. It was her pride and joy, whom she reluctantly sent to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee last year.

Honn was heartbroken over losing the animal, which she had nursed back to health at considerable drain on the facility's food budget. Also, two years ago, at the height of her struggles, Honn's favorite pet, Patches the horse, died of old age, further testing her mettle.

But part of Honn's charm was her toughness. She was continuously at odds with critics, many of whom were from the animal-rights community.

"My mother was not a people person -- she didn't join these groups," Johns said. "And when they picked a fight with her, she would not back down."

Honn, whose health problems were brought on by years of cigarette smoking and complicated by her stressful battle with the the government, perceived many federal regulations as burdensome rules that did little to enhance the quality of life for the animals but buried exhibitors in a mountain of paperwork.

The USDA maintained that its inspectors repeatedly tried to get Honn to comply with federal guidelines. A complaint was filed in September 1994, alleging that Honn "willfully violated the regulations and standards issued pursuant to the Animal Welfare Act."

Honn's supporters included Las Vegas veterinarian Gerald Huff, who in a letter dated Oct. 11, 1995, wrote "I am convinced that animals sense her great compassion for them."

Born July 15, 1937, in Montrose, Colo., Honn was raised by her mother, Alice Gerstner, a strong-willed woman with a love of animals. Gerstner, long a fixture at her daughter's sanctuary, survives her.

Honn came to Southern Nevada in 1954 and for many years adopted animals out of her home before opening the sanctuary in the late 1970s.

"Her dream was to obtain some land (near the sanctuary off State Route 146) to create an animal habitat, where wild animals could live out their years," Johns said. "I will work hard to make Mom's dream come true, but I definitely will not be as colorful a character as she was."

In addition to her daughter and mother, Honn is survived by a son, Scott Lee Berry of Henderson; a brother, Greg Gerstner of Henderson; and two grandchildren.

DONATIONS: In Honn's memory to Animal Adoptions Ltd., Box 90640, Henderson, NV 89009 or at any Nevada State Bank Branch, account No. 2073419.