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Case #5079 Rating: 3.8 out of 5
Cat shot with bow and arrow
Colorado Springs, CO (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Aug 31, 1996
County: El Paso
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Larry Duane Morrison
Larry Duane Morrison, a Marine Corp master sergeant, has been sentenced to two years of unsupervised probation and ordered to pay in excess of $1,600 in restitution and fines for shooting a stray cat with a bow and arrow.
He has been ordered to pay $350 fine, assorted court costs, $1,196 in veterinary bills for medical treatment of the injured cat, serve 250 hours in public service. Judge Jerry Nelson had wanted Morrison to serve 100 hours at the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region but they declined to have Morrison serve at their facility. The shelter said they would prefer not to go through the expense of training Morrison or anyone else sentenced to community service.
A petition of 1,000 signatures demanded stiff prosecution for Morrison for shooting the stray cat who was given the name Calamity.
Morrison was ticketed in September for cruelty to animals after shooting the cat with an arrow designed to kill small animals. The cat was found wandering east of Falcon with an arrow sticking out of its side.
Judge Nelson said, "What is more appalling about this than the animal walking around with that arrow sticking out is using the bow and arrow in the first place. You could have made a call to let someone know what happened ... The fact that you made no call is unbelievable to me."
Morrison told the judge he was concerned about stray cats in his neighborhood and felt he was only protecting his property and children. On the day of the shooting he only wanted to frighten the cat from his garbage. He said he hit the cat by mistake because his bow wasn't properly stringed.
Calamity the cat has now been adopted and is doing very well. Her owners say she remains "spooked" by some men and items that resemble the arrow such as a cane.
References- Gazette Telegraph - Aug 17, 1996
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