This is my webpage and this is my Soapbox.
On this page I like to put a few things that are just exploding to get off
of my chest. If this page offends you please move on. The views expressed
here are mine alone. If you don't like them make up your own!!!
Here's the Story:
Pet Cat Killed By Police
Family Wants Answers
ANGLETON, Texas, 5:15 p.m. CDT July 25, 2001 -- A 13-year-old Siamese pet cat was killed by an Angleton police officer Monday.
SPCA Launches Investigation
Why Police Killed Cat
Authorities said that the officer was putting the cat, named Sassy, out of its misery, but the family says that Sassy was never sick.
A neighbor called police to report the sick cat, when it was found roaming outside.
"The neighbor gave him a shovel, and the police apparently took the shovel and beat Sassy to death," Sassy's owner Lisa Bellard said. "The police saw her foaming at the mouth because, I think, (she) was hot, and she was hissing at him because she was lost. So he thought since she was sick, he would put her out of her misery," Bellard said.
When the Bellard family realized their cat, which was kept inside, was missing, they called Angleton police.
"We described our cat. It was like -- 'we destroyed that cat,'" Bellard said.
"At the time the officer felt it was appropriate. He felt the cat was injured and suffering and to him, he was putting the cat out of its misery," Angleton Police Lt. Wayne Rickman said.
The family believes that the cat should have been tested first, before it was killed.
Sassy was not wearing a collar around its neck. Police said that if it had a collar, it would have been easier to find the owner, and it might not have been killed.
The family plans to have Sassy tested to see if it was sick at the time of its death.
"The cat probably could have been saved," pet owner Paul Bellard said. "I feel if an animal control person would have been involved in this, it would have been handled differently."
Sassy's death has angered many, including the Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, who told News2Houston that the officer may have violated the animal cruelty statute and is now launching their own investigation.
"You can't go out and destroy someone's car," Stacey Wilbanks of the Houston SPCA said. "You can't go out and break the windows of their home, and you can't go out and kill their pets."
While Paul Bellard contemplates taking legal action against the police officer, police department and city of Angelton, Angleton police are now looking into their policies on stray cats and animals to see if they should possibly be changed.
From: Channel 2 News - Click here to see story and Video
God protect us from the "helpful"!
Links to other sites on the Web
Siamese Rescue
Return Home
Houston SPCA
See my Cats
The views expressed here are my own and do not represent those of Geocities or anyone else for that matter. These are my own personal views. If you don't like my views then make up your own and put them on your own webpage. Remember Think For Yourself!
You are visitor # to be enlightened!
© 1997 Email Me