A Clay County man is in jail facing animal cruelty charges for allegedly throwing a stray kitten into a pack of dogs. The kitten was killed.
Jannie Padgett says she saw it all happen, and it was terrible.
"He pulled his truck in front of our yard and called the dogs over, and then he tossed the kitten to the dogs," Padgett said.
"I yelled at him, 'What did you do that for?'"
What's worse, she says, is her four-year old grandson, Collie, saw part of the attack.
"The dogs ate the kitten," Collie said, "and it cried."
John Padgett says his six dogs are not vicious, but they don't like cats either.
He believes this stunt stems from a long dispute with their neighbor's son, 22-year old James Rutland, who is now in jail facing an animal cruelty charge.
First Coast News talked to Rutland's father. He didn't want to go on camera but told them that his neighbor has threatened his son's life, and his son was bringing the kitten home to him when it jumped out of the truck on its own.
Detective Annie Henderson of the Clay County Sheriff's Office Animal Crime Unit says she doesn't believe Rutland's story.
"It was a small kitten, about four inches tall, it was probably about 8-weeks old," Henderson said.
Rutland told police he made no attempt to stop the dogs from attacking and killing the kitten.
He is in jail on $25,000 bond. Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
Back to Top References« FL State Animal Cruelty Map
|
