 Cat shot
Fremont, OH (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, May 9, 2007
County: Sandusky
Local Map: available
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
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Scars from a gunshot wound and markings from stitches removed this week show where Ace's left front leg used to be.
The loss of the limb has not slowed the marmalade and white feline from Fremont who is recuperating from a recent shooting.
Ace, who preferred to stay in his portable cage during a recent visit to The News-Messenger office on Cedar Street, had little difficulty maneuvering around a table top when removed from the cage. Joni Hasselbach takes limited comfort in knowing her cat is adjusting to life with only three legs and wonders why someone would want to hurt him.
"This is supposed to be a 'good' neighborhood," she said of the East State Street area where she lives.
Ace ran from Hasselbach's house after she opened the back door for the family dog on May 9, according to a police report. Two days later, Ace returned to the house with a gunshot wound to his left side. Hasselbach said she and her family had scoured the area looking for him.
She took Ace to the Fremont Animal Hospital on Sean Drive, and Mark Reineck amputated his leg. Because the bullet, which Reineck said probably came from a rifle, had shattered the bone, his only option was to remove the limb.
Ace's stitches were removed Tuesday, and his prognosis is good.
"He'll have a full recovery," Reineck said. "He seems to be pretty happy. ... He's already tearing around the house."
The veterinarian said he sees animal shootings frequently, and about 10 percent of the cases are as serious as Ace's. He recommended pet owners do their best not to let their animals run free.
"We want to be fair to our animals," he said. "If we don't have a protected area for them, these things can happen."
Hasselbach, who is a hairdresser at Renaissance Salon Gallery on East State Street, recalled only one other instance when one of her pets ran away. She has four cats and a hermit crab in addition to Ace and the dog. All have either been rescued or come from the Humane Society.
She said she wants little more than to understand the attacker's motivation.
"I'm not gonna do anything about it," she said of the prospect the shooter might be identified. "I just want to find out why." Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
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