Douglas Tabler of Eureka was disturbed about lobsters being held in the new North Coast Co-op store in Eureka and decided to take action Thursday by shipping them home ... to Maine.

It all started after the death of his two cats last month.

"I had a breakthrough after my two cats died. I missed them so much; I realized that they were part of our family and so much like me, just in a different form."

Tabler said that after the new Co-op opened, he and his companion Sheri Johnson went in to look around and do a little shopping.

"When I saw the lobsters in the tank, they were all huddled together. I felt like they were communicating to me and they were afraid," Tabler explained. "Right then I saw that we are all the same. We have the same feelings, but we are in different forms."

Tabler said that he went to the service desk and spoke with Co-op manager Larry Crabb about the situation.

"He told me that a woman had come in a day earlier and said the same thing. It made a lot of people uncomfortable, especially vegetarians."

Tabler, who is a vegan, said he was protesting at the store for several days and decided to take action.
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"My brother is going to drive them to Maine," Nichols added. "It's definitely one of the most unusual calls I've received. But, I feel that people can choose what they believe in. I support their right to take action. It's a symbolic gesture for Douglas to send the lobsters back."

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