Hi Lori News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Lori comes across four years worth of property tax bills unpaid. >> left you with a mess? >> yes. >> reporter: the amount due is $7,400, money lori doesn't have in the bank. >> i'm thinking, what do we do? . i didn't go through everything all those years prior to that to just give up. >> reporter: with lori unable to cover the taxes, octagon board member sherry pate and her husband graciously offer to cover the debt. when they arrive at the courthouse -- >> we laid down the property taxes and the woman said, well, that's funny, we just sent this over to the lawyer yesterday. >> reporter: count...

Of these animals. >> reporter: lori and pete worked side by side for years here at octagon, before they started dating. but is it possible the wild beasts were on to them before they were even on to themselves? several years before lori came on the scene, pete had taken in a bamboo named max from the circus. max instantly formed a bond with pete. then young lori shows up and every time max sees her working with pete, the poor guy starts acting out badly. in his jealous rage, max begins to toss his droppings at lori with impeccable aim and lori says that gave her pause, so to speak, to wonder i...

Even battled government officials, they turned to him when an animal is in trouble. it sounds like you and pete butted heads a bit. was it worth it? >> oh, absolutely, we need places like this, rather than to go ahead and euthanize them. >> there is someone who wants to tame pete. that passionate volunteer from illinois. >> we were actually doing a lot of rescuing together. and it seemed to work really well. and then we decided yeah, let's take it another step. >> despite their 28-year age difference and the fact that pete is twice divorced with three adult children, lori and pete start to dat...

Behind. money is tight and relationships with state and federal inspectors strained. >> pete didn't always make friends doing this. >> no, he burned a lot of bridges. >> within days of pete's funeral, lori is already feeling the heat. octagon is hit with a surprise visit from the u.s. department of agriculture, which enforces standards of care and treatment for animals exhibited to the public. the authorities say that lori must fix conditions that put the public and the animals in danger. she thinks they're just out for blood after years of butting heads with pete. >> one inspector was like, i...

>> so they marry in 2002. >> was it a real marriage or one of convenience? >> i think it was one of convenience, there was definitely love and respect there. but we knew at that point anybody else would come in and try to tear down his dream. and mine. because it had become mine, too. >> in june of 2003, pete's health got worse and he has triple bypass surgery. >> he actually was in the hospital for about a total of two or three months. >> lori takes over day to day operations of the sanctuary. it is then that she starts to sense the challenges that lie ahead. >> i think i always knew there wa...