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Butchie

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2001

Answers

My first reaction: Tears. Such a sweet face...he must be so confused about the whole thing.

My next reaction: Fucking asshole neighbor. Hope he DOES shoot himself in the foot. Send him the vet bill. Take him to small claims court. Make his life hell. Arghhhh!

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2001

Big K..I will bare my soul for this...when Dan and I got him home...and let him out of the carrier..(we had not seen all of him yet) we fell to the floor in sobbing..until we vomited. and the fucking laws protect HIS RIGHTS ..matters not that we were in the woods....or the bullets could have hit one of us.

Dan and I have thrown up, have sobbed, and have held Butch close to let him know how much he is loved. and he simple rubbed his face and head on us to say,,,,I am ok mommie.

I did scream at the top of my lungs today...I called him by name, and said" I will see you burn in hell"...dan was watching his reaction, he never looked up..probable too F%^&^ drunk.

I am hoping since I have told the neighbors, and the gunshots are heard by everyone on this road..they may email Dick Goddard, the SPCa weather man..if anyone can get something done..MR. Dick goddard can! I am still too unstable to speak with out vengence right now.

I have fear for my out dorr animals, the horses that I can not bring in. I will bring in the cat's from the cat house, as I don't trust his evil heart, he could slit their throats in the night!

after today, I will not dwell on this..I will concetrate on the healing process for Butch...and for us!

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2001

SAR - the first picture - I don't think I have ever seen such expressive eyes.

Are you absolutely sure you understand the relevant law here? Maybe there is something different about Ohio, but it doesn't jibe with what I understand about Massachusetts. Back when a couple neighborhood cats were traumatizing my indoor cats, I checked with the top litigator at my law firm. The cats, coming up to my back door, were legally trespassing, but there was nothing I could do about it since they were someone's pets. I couldn't, for instance, set a havahart trap at my back door. I didn't follow where Butchie was when that bastard nailed him, but it might not even matter.

I did, however, have recourse under tort law because my cats (= property) were now damaged goods (emotionally). I even had the potential to get a restraining order (against a cat, you understand), but it was something I would have to document. Your main problem, perhaps not, would be proving who did it.

So sorry you are going through this. Look forward to Butchie's speedy recovery.

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2001

Brooks, there are two major problems here. One is that according to what I read on the web, Ohio has some of the least punitive animal cruelty laws in the US. This was a pretty egregious act, in that the vet stated quite equivocally that the wound occurred at point-blank range. Here's where the second problem comes in: nobody saw the guy do it. Sure, there's circumstantial evidence by the bucketload--but no evidence. SAR and Dan know he did it; the Sheriff knows he did it, but no proof. If someone could get in touch with the news guy, I have a feeling he could make things look very bad for this arsehole without legally slandering him, might even be able to trick him into figuratively shooting himself in the foot.

SAR, I think it's time to be careful about what you say. You're pretty much okay here but you could easily fall afoul of the libel/slander laws, so watch it with the neighbors. You can say you didn't actually see the guy shoot the cat, BUT. . . And then talk about nobody else being around, shots were from 357, the guy owns such a gun and fires it often in that very same place, etc. Just don't tell people he did it cause you can't prove it.

Not gonna look at the pics.

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2001

I hear you , Git. yes...today it ends, we will let the media, or the law or whatever handle the situation, I (and Dan) am so drained I can't even think on it anymore...no matter how WRONG this is...the fact is, Butch WILL be ok....HE knows he did it, WE know he did it, HE knows we are not DUMB people, and the only way this will be resolved JUSTLY is in the HANDS of SOmeone much greater than us.....I can sleep tonight knowing this.

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2001

BTW yes, we are only saying what we know is the truth, and I have told all neighbors with pets that get lose to be careful because they may be shot..again, I am only saying the truth, so as NOT to run afoul of the law. surprising how not one neighbor had any doubt WHO did this..even though we couldn't say because we did not see it. and funny how even the neighbors WAY down the road complain about the "gun parties" that last all day long.

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2001

Git, I was in no way referring to animal cruelty laws, rather property laws. Their beloved Butchie is damaged goods physically, and possibly emotionally (well, that would be the argument), and that is what the neighbor (if it could be proved) would be liable for.

-- Anonymous, September 09, 2001

I believe since Ohio law places so little value on pet animals, the value of the personal property damaged is little or nothing. SAR's horses might be safe/safer because they're better protected as working animals. Of course it's difficult to be entirely accurate because I read only news articles and not the actual Ohio state laws.

It's kinda like when I lived in Texas in the sixties and there was nothing I could do about my husband beating on me--my "value" as a woman at that time was negligible under Texas state law. If my husband caught me in bed with a man and shot us both, that was justifiable homicide. If I caught him in bed with another woman and shot them both, that was two counts of murder one. Seriously. Unfortunately, domestic pet laws haven't progressed in many states, but Massachusetts has long had some of the strongest animal protection laws in the US. Here in Durham, almost all animal cruelty is a misdemeanor, including the case where the kids set a cat on fire--can you say "slap on the wrist"?

-- Anonymous, September 09, 2001