Late on Aug. 11, another incident occurred, when a Grand Haven woman came home to find her cat spray-painted and mutilated on her front porch on the same block where a cat had been shot in early June.
The woman, who asked not to be identified because of the situation, got home and saw neighbors looking for their cat, she explained. While she had not seen her orange and white striped female cat for a couple days, she said she had not thought anything of it, since everyone in the neighborhood knows the cat, and it was friendly.
She found the pet crying on the front porch with a "messed up" eye and a cut lip, she said. At first, it made her think her pet had been hit by a car, she said.
When she turned on the porch light and looked over her pet, it looked emaciated and had spray paint on various parts of its body. When she opened the door and let her cat in the house, it refused food.
She got a washcloth to clean off her pet, but upon examining the cat, she discovered additional injuries.
The cat also had large cuts on its stomach, Yonker said.
She called the police, and since there were no area animal clinics open at that point in the evening, the police put the animal down at her request, he added.
"She was the most docile, friendly cat," the woman said, adding that she has had the cat since it was a six-week-old kitten.
An X-ray of the cat revealed that it had also been shot by a pellet with a diameter of .227, Yonker said. The weapon that police currently have as part of the investigation has caliber of .177, which is not consistent with the pellet found in the cat, he added.
This case is believed to be related to a June 2 case where a cat was shot with a pellet gun on the same block, Yonker said.
DPS currently has three "persons of interest," he said. All three are males, ages 19, 25 and 17, from the city of Grand Haven that live in the neighborhood. However, no suspects have been charged in the incident. The weapon that was recovered did belong to one of the "persons of interest," he added.
Another neighbor reported, on Aug. 9 at about 10:30 p.m., seeing one of the "persons of interest" holding a leash with a Chihuahua in one hand and a BB gun or similar-type weapon in the other, Yonker said. He added there is another neighbor in the area who is currently missing two Chihuahuas.
Neighbors are organizing a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
Yonker encouraged anyone with information to call Silent Observer at 842-1400 or the DPS office at 842-3460. If you have information on this case, please contact:
Silent Observer
842-1400
Case UpdatesA possible animal cruelty case in Grand Haven involving a critically injured cat that was mauled and painted with blue spray paint last month apparently was not an animal cruelty case after all, officials said.
Based on tips received through Silent Observer, Grand Haven Department of Public Safety officials have concluded the cat accidentally was injured by a neighbor's pitbull after it wandered into the neighbor's basement and encountered the dog. The dog's owner attempted to break up the fight by spraying both animals with blue spray paint.
The two animals stopped fighting and the injured cat escaped, but later had to be put down because of severe lacerations. The incident occurred Aug. 11 in the 400 block of Elliott Street.
Because of the nature of the cat's injuries, public safety officers believed it was a possible animal cruelty case. But based on tips received, investigators interviewed the owner of the dog and concluded the cat was injured by the dog. The investigation results have been reviewed by the Ottawa County Prosecutor's Office and no charges are being filed.
Public Safety Lt. Mark Reiss said the dog's owner was reluctant to come forward with information on the incident because of widespread media coverage.
The incident attracted significant regional attention and a Battle Creek doctor who read media reports of the investigation offered a $500 reward for information in the case. Reiss said the reward eventually grew to $1,000. The reward money probably will be divided among those who led investigators to the owner of the pitbull. | Source: Muskegon Chronicle - Sept 29, 2006
Update posted on Sep 29, 2006 - 10:28AM |
The reward fund leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for recent animal cruelty in Grand Haven continues to grow.
Dr. Rebecca Sommer, the Battle Creek dentist who last week pledged $500 to the reward fund, informed the Grand Haven Department of Public Safety on Thursday that a total of $2,000 had been pledged at her office.
Sommer said this morning that she has received pledges from not only both the Grand Haven and Battle Creek areas but from as far away as Charlevoix, Boston and California. She added that when time permits, she also asks patients at her office if they are willing to contribute.
The total reward fund is now $2,500, including both the pledges Sommer has collected and the $500 that neighbors in the area of the crime collected.
On Aug. 11, a cat returned to its home on the 400 block of Elliott Street in Grand Haven with numerous injuries, including a large cut on its stomach and spray paint on various parts of its body, police said. Police had to put down the cat at the owner's request, since there were not any animal clinics open at that time of night.
DPS Capt. Rick Yonker said this morning the agency is continuing its investigation and still has three "persons of interest," aged 17, 19 and 22. | Source: Grand Haven Tribune - Sept 1, 2006
Update posted on Sep 1, 2006 - 11:23AM |
| Neighbors in the 400 block of Elliott Street have raised $500 for information leading to an arrest, Grand Haven police Capt. Rich Yonker said. | Source: Grand Rapids Press - Aug 22, 2006
Update posted on Aug 23, 2006 - 2:30PM |
Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
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