Cat shot in head with .22 rifle Salisbury, MD (US) Incident Date: Sunday, Aug 3, 1997 County: Wicomico Local Map: available Disposition: Alleged Alleged: John Drendall

Case ID: 5050 Classification: Shooting Animal: cat View more cases in MD (US) Animal was offleash or loose Abuse was retaliation against animal's bad behavior Login to Watch this Case

John Drendall, 47, of Houston, TX, shot a cat called Babe through the head with a .22 caliber rife. Drendall says he acted in self-defense after being badly scratched when he tried to put Babe into a beer cooler.

The shooting of the cat on August 3 ignited the public's fury in the Salisbury area even though the 10-month old tabby survived.

John Drendell and his brother Michael, 51, were cleaning up the yard of their elderly parents' home. There were approximately a dozen "unrestrained" cats hanging around the parents' property leaving footprints on their cars and feces in the garden. The brothers decided to catch the cats, put them into a beer cooler and release them a few miles away.

When the cat identified as Babe, badly scratched John Drendell he shot the cat through the head. Drendall said when he let the cat go "the cat started spinning around. It didn't leave, it didn't run. He didn't know if it was going to jump on him again"

Frightened Drendell grabbed his father's bolt-action .22 rifle and shot her. The cat dropped to the ground and Drendall put her into a sack and left her for dead.

Babe's owner witnessed the shooting and showed up with the police. They were all surprised to see the cat walk out of the bag.

The bullet had passed virtually harmlessly between the cat's ear and the base of her skull. The cat survived the shooting, it's head still has a little tilt. Babe's owners have moved and could not be reached for further comment.

John and Michael Drendall were charged with animal cruelty. Charges against Michael Drendell were dropped because he was not involved in the shooting.

If John Drendell is convicted, he faces a fine of up to $1,000 and prison sentence of up to 90 days.

The judge has postponed his verdict to seek advice from lawyers on whether shooting an animal with the itnent to kill - not torture - constitutes animal cruelty under the law.

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

Washington Post - Jan 9, 1998

« MD 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.