Cat shot with shotgun Barrington, NH (US) Incident Date: Tuesday, Apr 19, 2005 County: Strafford Local Map: available Disposition: Convicted Abuser/Suspect: Michael Hastings Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

Case ID: 4535 Classification: Shooting Animal: cat View more cases in NH (US) Login to Watch this Case

A Barrington man has been charged with cruelty to animals after a neighbor reported her cat was badly injured by a shotgun.

Michael Hastings, 40, of Second Crown Point Road, has been charged with the Class A misdemeanor and police have taken possession of the firearm allegedly involved.

Wanda Rumery, of 81 Second Crown Point Road, said she was standing on her deck about 7 p.m. on a recent April evening when she heard a shot.

�I saw Michael standing with a shotgun pointed towards the woods,� she said. �I thought he was target practicing or sighting his gun, but there was just one shot and then he took a seat on a lawn chair.�

A minute later, however, her cat Zachary came flying out of the woods.

�There was blood all over his face, legs, chest and eye,� said Rumery. �I put two and two together.�

Rumery, who has three cats and a dog, said her first priority was to tend to her cat, before calling her neighbor�s house. Using salty language, Rumery said she berated her neighbor. The pet owner asserts that Hastings told her the cat �was on someone else�s property.�

�He was probably hunting mice along the wood line,� said Rumery.

Following this conversation, she called Barrington police, and after coming out to the house and taking pictures of the injured animal, the officers told Rumery how to get to the emergency vet in Portsmouth.

They then went to the neighboring house and took possession of a shotgun, according to Barrington Police Chief Richard Conway.

The vet picked out some of the shotgun pellets, but did not want to dig too deep as the animal was traumatized, according to Rumery, who paid an initial bill of $526 for the emergency care.

�The X-rays show he is full of pellets,� said Rumery, adding that Zachary is expected to lose the sight in one eye. The cat has been provided with a morphine patch to dull the pain while it slowly recovers.

�I am not against guns. I have a .22 rifle for protection and to shoot rabid woodchucks if they come around,� said Rumery.

The pet owner, who is a quarter Cherokee, has many Native American artifacts in her house and teepee poles in her back lot. �We are trying to be easy-going people, not out to rule the world,� she said.

Hastings could not be reached for comment. He is due to appear in Rochester District Court on June 10 and is free on $1,500 personal recognizance bail, according to Chief Conway.

A Class A misdemeanor carries a maximum penalty of 12 months in prison and a $1,200 fine.

Case Updates

Neighborhood Map

For more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.

Back to Top

Add this case to:

Del.icio.us

|

Digg

|

Furl

|

References

Foster's Online - May 9, 2005

« NH State Animal Cruelty Map

Not sure what these icons mean? Click here.

Note: Classifications and other fields should not be used to determine what specific charges the suspect is facing or was convicted of - they are for research and statistical purposes only. The case report and subsequent updates outline the specific charges. Charges referenced in the original case report may be modified throughout the course of the investigation or trial, so case updates, when available, should always be considered the most accurate reflection of charges.

For more information regarding classifications and usage of this database, please visit the database notes and disclaimer.