Posted on 07/28/2010 11:02:35 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A U.S. Marine who allegedly hurled a kitten 15 feet against a wall is due in court Thursday on, authorities said.
Fernando Pacheco, 27, was at a friend's home in midtown San Diego last June when the kitten either bit or scratched him, according to San Diego Humane Society officials. Pacheco allegedly threw the animal across a patio and into a wall, breaking its leg. The then-4-month-old cat also suffered head trauma, and its eyes and nose were bloodied as well.
Cullen the cat has recovered completely, according to the humane society, but the cat's owner incurred more than $5,000 in veterinary bills.
Humane society officials said they recently sent the results of their investigation to the district attorney's office after a long investigation.
Pacheco is scheduled to be in court Thursday afternoon to face animal cruelty charges, according to an official with the district attorney's office.
“No creature bites or scratches without provocation.”
Hmmm. When my cat whom I grew very fond of was youngish, he would (like all cats) climb up on my bed to wake me up to feed him. I never minded that, but once, exactly once, he tried to wake me up by pawing at one of my closed eyes, and he clawed my eyelid very slightly.
But this was a behavior I was not about to tolerate, so I got a palm under him and threw him pretty hard across the room.
Thereafter he never had any hesitation to wake me up for the morning feed, and he would meow with his mouth closed, which was kind of funny, kind of like humming in cat-land, but he never clawed at my eyelid again.
He ought to pay the vet fees.
My wife’s got a deep infected scratch on her hand right now. The cat was sleeping on top of her while she was asleep. I was laying alongside with a book, had been for an hour. With no preceding incidents, the cat literally flipped then took off to the floor on far side of the bed, where she sat staring into vacant space.
My wife then muzzily held her hand out to me and said, “Am I bleeding?”
Some common sources of “provocation” around here:
-You looked like a good source of traction.
-Racing across your sleeping face, all claws out, seemed like the best way to convince you that 3am really =is= play time.
-There were Artesians in the wall just now. No, really!
-You were vertical. Cats come with crampons.
-You were imitating a stepladder while next to the bookshelf they want to scale.
-Primary means for provoking cat bites and scratches: You weren’t paying enough attention to the cat! Look at the cat!
I’ve been beaten up by all sorts of critters through my life, from pets and livestock to wildlife. Statements like “they only do it if provoked” are silly and poison the use of reason in discussion.
Animals do all sorts of things. Like humans, there’s often little logic to it.
The Marine should be commended, as he was kind enough to let the thing live after it bit him. If some nasty cat were to do the same to me, I'd stomp its lights out on the spot.
Lighten up, Francis. It’s a four month old kitten.
Exactly! Journalism is all agenda driven and it’s not even subtle anymore.
“What does the fact that this guy was a marine have to do with anything? Nothing, of course, unless you want to perpetuate the stereotype that military service/warfare more often than not results in psychopathic, violent behavior.”
That’s exactly the reason—mean ol’ Marine abusing a poor little putty-tat. I love animals, too, but what he did probably was a reflex action. I was out walking one day when a neighbor’s dog sneaked up behind me and licked my hand. I hadn’t seen him come up and drew my arm back instinctively. I did not touch the dog, but my action scared him so badly that he ran off.
There’s just something about a pussy and a marine.
I don’t necessarily think this guy needs to be thrown in jail for years or anything that brutal, but he should be made to pay for what he’s done, and I hope his superior has a heart-to-heart with him to set him straight.
Kittens are stupid, all-id animals, and will often tear-ass around because they’re young and they can, and it probably feels great! This guy is a marine. He is combat-trained, so if the bite or scratch from a kitten is enough to make him throw it so hard that the bones break, he’s not military material.
I’m a petite woman, and I recently (four months ago) saved a cat from four dogs trying to rip it apart, suffering bites from both the dogs and the cat. That cat bit through my thumb and nail, taking time to dig its long front tooth right in there, while it held onto my arm with every claw, seemingly relishing the pain it was causing me as I escorted it away from the dogs that would surely be its demise. I didn’t throw the darn thing, though I wanted to. I set it gently down and waited for it to release its grip on me, while I bled all over it. I’m not combat-trained, but I’m also not a hot-headed pos willing to throw a tantrum over a little blood.
You've never been within a 100 yds of a cat or kitten have you?
If you know cats then you shouldn't have written such an absurd lie.
I might have expected you to put words in my mouth after using a lie in the first place. I had my first cat 50 years ago and animals in general love me. Always have.
We need comprehensive pet medical insurance reform. Who can afford $5,000 vet bills for a kitteh?
It’s probably already buried in the 0bamaCare bill we’ve gotten. Some utterly vague language that’s just waiting for a bit of creative bureaucratic interpretation.
They should kick him out of the Corps so he can go be a civilian cop and shoot other people’s dogs at will without worrying about the recriminations.
It is one thing to disagree with a person - but to accuse that person of lying, attacking their honor and integrity, just because you do not agree with them...?
If a cat has phase 3 rabies - it might attack unprovoked. A cat may inadvertently scratch a person just trying to climb into their lap. Often, a cat or kitten will be meaning to play and inadvertently scratch or bite a person not meaning to harm them. I do not consider incidents such as these to be unprovoked attacks. Other times, the cat may feel threatened because it was picked up against its will or frightened in some way - and it has a normal, instinctual reaction. In my view, that does not justify the kind of violence allegedly displayed by this marine.
What is this young man going to do when he has small children who do something that annoys or irritates him? Will he try to throw them against the wall too? No amount of training can give this man discipline, good judgment, or decency.
Many may not agree with me (I won’t be calling them liars, BTW) - but I do not believe there is any justification for this behavior. I think there should be stiff penalties for animal cruelty that are enforced to the full extent of the law.
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