Posted on 01/25/2009 5:28:39 PM PST by Daffynition
BOISE -- A 12-year-old Caldwell boy has come forward to claim responsibility for the arrow found lodged in the head of a cat.
Prosecutors will decide whether the boy should be charged with animal cruelty.
The boy and his father told the Gem County Sheriff's Office he was protecting quail, but the question many are asking tonight is - does intention matter?
Gem County officials tell us that it is illegal to shoot at pets with a bow and arrow any time. But some are making the argument that this was a stray cat.
Jeff Rosenthal with the Idaho Humane Society says that does not matter.
"There's a feeling at least that this is something malicious and cruel," said Rosenthal.
A nine-month-old cat, now named Valentine, is recovering after a major surgery to remove an arrow from her head.
This interview came an hour before Wednesday's surgery.
"I think the arrow went through the eye and came out the back of the head," said Jeff Brourman who performed the surgery on Valentine.
A scan of the cat's head shows the arrow missed the brain by millimeters, but destroyed the left ear and eye.
(Related: Sheriff says 12-year-old boy shot cat in head with arrow)
"In a case like this we have to be concerned that this is something that is done purposefully," said Brourman.
Hours after this story was brought to the public's attention, the Gem County Sheriff's Office said that a 12 year-old neighbor of the person who brought the cat in claimed responsibility.
We went to their home Thursday, but they declined to comment.
Since Valentine is a stray, the closest thing to an owner would be the person who took the cat to West Vet.
That person said they would not press charges on the boy because they believe he is sorry for what he did and that this was an accident.
Jeff Rosenthal with the Idaho Humane Society disagrees.
"I don’t think it was accidental, I think the shot itself where it hit was, that part of it, I'm sure no one was that accurate, but I believe the child was intending to harm the cat sure," said Rosenthal.
We spoke with a lieutenant from Gem County Sheriff's Office just moments after he questioned the family and he said he has everything he needs to file his report. He'll turn it over to the prosecutor to decide whether to file charges. That decision likely won't be made until next week.
"Because it was a child there’s more of a, oh it’s a child out being mischievous, made a mistake. I still think it’s important to make an impact on that child. Make sure we don’t have anything else going on with the child as well," said Rosenthal.
Valentine will spend the night recovering from surgery, and then the plan is for Simply Cats, an all cat shelter, to come and pick her up and get her well enough to be adopted.
Simply Cats executive director Sheri Schneider tells us that around 75 people have shown interest in adopting the cat when she's ready.
Schneider says they will most likely hold a lottery to determine Valentine's new owner.
Rosenthal says the Humane Society maintains a toll-free animal cruelty and neglect hotline for people to report cases of animal cruelty, neglect or animal fighting.
Anyone with information on these forms of abuse is urged to call 1-866-430-9432.
Yes.
You misread the article. There was no known owner of the cat. It said the person who took the cat to the vet had a legal right to press charges. That person was not the owner and had no legal rights until they picked up the injured cat and took it to a vet.
(Oh, it's a joke fer cryin’ out loud!!)
Wow, animal cruelty is definitely bad, but what I’d really like to know is who’s money is going toward maintaining the Humane Society’s toll free animal cruelty hot-line? That money couldn’t be put to any better use than to hire people to sit around and take phone calls about whether any stray cats are a bit scuffed up?
Maybe we should say the same for you when you get sick or enter old fartdom.
Kids who abuse animals tend to move on to humans....
Thread hijack alert.
LOL!
But I'm not sure the kid intended or did abuse, it sounds like bad feral control technique.
I've got a view more attuned to country style living, where dealing with ferals is required.
Back in the day... living in the country... I've shot a few varmints and ferals myself. Back when it wasn't unlawful. Back when you got bounties for coy-dogs.
Clearing ferals and varmints is necessary work. Rat killings in corn cribs are still fresh memories around here.
Doing that work is required from field hands in country settings.
Equating it to abusing animals isn't quite fair.
And I'm not ready to put down a 12 year old, or even screw up his life.
/johnny
Welcome to FreeRepublic.
You are pessimistic.
Tom (dad named him... dad was not original, dogs were Spot, cats were Tom), 1968, stray cat gets ass kicked by squirrel, loses right eye and a fair chunk of skull.
Dad pays for vet, feeling brotherly, Dad being blind in right eye and all after a bad fight. Tom lived until .... 1979.
Tom would laugh. And avoid you.
/johnny
I'd like to personally classify myself as one of those ninnies that thinks abortion is murder, abuse of animals a sin, and prosecuting a 12 year old kid is stupid.
Some folks said something about thread highjacking... but this is all valid discussion of conservative values.
Life matters. Human life first.
Babies matter a lot.
/johnny
Rabies infected fuzzy weedbelt cockroaches dont belong on my property killing my smallstock.
If FRs emotionalist urban-dwelling bottom feeders ever realized that their grossly negligent behavior is responsible for real financial hardship on self sufficient Americans then they wouldnt be surprised that not only would I hire this boy to babysit, I would pay him an additional $5 per head bounty.
Yes indeed.
> Tom would laugh. And avoid you.
Tom would have avoided me for other reasons: I’m a dog person with very little time or patience for cats. I don’t like to see them cruelly treated, but equally I see them as little better than large rodents with sharp teeth and claws. A bit like possums, only cuddly.
So, I guess we are to destroy a kid because he shot at a feral cat that he may or may not have meant to hurt. Over 50 years ago, a friend of mine shot a bird with my bow. It was a one in a million shot. He was very broke up about it since it was a mother bird with several babies. He never shot at another one.
The presumption with that statement is that he does not already look after the family dog or cat or raise goats or chickens or do any number of things in a responsible mature fashion.
Maybe we should wait until all the facts on this case are covered.
Best regards,
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