Kitten beaten
Kingsland, GA (US)Incident Date: Sunday, Nov 9, 2008
County: Camden
Disposition: Open
Case Images: 2 files available
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A group of teenagers were allegedly beating a 6 week old kitten over the weekend. The kitten was rescued, but didn't make it out of surgery in one piece.
The veterinarian at Laurel Oaks Animal Hospital in Kingsland, now caring for the kitten, says she sees animal abuse more often than you might imagine.
This kitten is playful and affectionate, but he has already seen how cruel a place the world can be.
Dr. Julie Clark Blount is the veterinarian treating the kitten now.
"I think they were actually kicking him or throwing him or something of that nature," said Blount. "They had damaged the whole bundle of nerves that are up in the armpit and control the functioning of the entire leg, and it's not something that would get better over time."
Blount says they were forced to amputate his front right leg.
"It doesn't seem to bother him at all and he runs and he plays and he loves attention and he's pretty spoiled already, and he's eating like a little pig, and doing fabulous for us," said Blount.
Doing well, but Blount says other pets out there never survive abuse.
"He's one of the lucky ones," she said.
Blount says unless abusers like his are caught and prosecuted, they could go on to bigger and badder things.
"We wish there were more strict laws to protect animals because if they're doing this to pets, then what would they end up doing to people, or kids, or anything else later on down the road?" wonders Blount.
And she says it's everyone's responsibility to report any animal abuse.
"These guys can't file a report, they don't know how to get help, they don't know why this is going on," said Blount.
Blount says she sees a lot of mistreated animals.
But it's pets like this one, now named Paulie, that keep her going.
"If we can help him and help him realize that all people aren't bad, and find him somebody worth loving him and caring for him and worthy of his love and attention in return, then it helps make it worthwhile for some of those that we can't save," said Blount.
Blount says if you see cruelty happening, call police or animal control and at least file a report - because while law enforcement may not be able to act on that incident, the more reports of animal cruelty in one area, the easier it is for them to file charges later on.
No one has been charged yet with animal cruelty.
Click here for more information on how you can detect and stop animal abuse.
If you're interested in adopting this cat or other pets at the clinic, call the Laurel Oaks Animal Hospital at (912) 576-9801.
As of Wednesday morning, the clinic says they've already had 15 families expressing interest in adopting the Paulie. They say they will be screening everyone wanting to adopt to find the appropriate home for him.
Case UpdatesIt's a story of animal abuse that's gained national attention over the last two weeks, and now police say it's all a hoax.
The Kingsland Police department says Jeremy Smyers, who reportedly rescued an abused kitten from a group of violent teenagers, fabricated the whole story.
On the weekend of November 8th, Smyers told police he caught teenagers throwing 6-week-old Paulie around like a football.
But after criminal investigators found inconsistencies in his story, Smyers admitted he made the whole thing up.
Police say Smyers did find the kitten after it had been abused. They do not believe he had anything to do with the abuse.
At this time police say they've exhausted the investigation.
In the meantime, there's good news. Laurel Oaks animal hospital took hundreds of calls from around the country, even Canada, and decided to place Paulie with a woman whose cat died several weeks ago. | Source: First Coast News - Nov 20, 2008
Update posted on Nov 20, 2008 - 10:59PM |
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