To the teenager, though, the cat is dead to him.
I am a foster home for the Great Lakes Bengal Rescue ( http://www.greatlakesbengalrescue.com ) . To see someone getting rid of a cat because of something like this just irks me no end. To see people defending a male teenager acting in this manner shocks me to no end.
14 is old enough to know better than to act like this. Such behavior would be understandable in a 6 y.o.
Yup. Too bad his parents weren't a little wiser. Kinda makes you wonder why they over-reacted like that. Maybe more to the story? This has been going on for awhile? The kid kept letting the cat out just to irk the 78 yr old? There's more to this I think.
How many meows does it take to make a misdemeanor?
Jeannette District Judge Joseph R. DeMarchis will make that determination in 90 days.
He heard testimony Tuesday in the case of a city teenager who allegedly said "meow" repeatedly to a neighbor.
Michael Loughner, 14, of 108 Harrison Ave., was charged with harassment by Jeannette police after a July 23 incident.
Alexandria Carasia, 78, of 106 Harrison Ave., said that was the day she finally called police.
"I've had to put up with this for three years," Carasia said. "As I walk by, I see Michael and his mother. He got on the porch and hid behind the bamboo screen and starts meowing. If I don't make this stop now, they're going to keep doing this to me. I shouldn't have to worry about walking out of the house and being harassed by this young kid.
"Every time he sees me, he meows," Carasia testified.
Her son, Ken, said he walked her home that day because she was worried about going past Loughner again.
Loughner also recalled the July 23 exchange, saying he went to hold his dog so it wouldn't leave the yard. He said he's only made the noise to Carasia twice, once being that day.
"She was walking through and she kept looking at us," he testified. "I grabbed the dog so it wouldn't leave the yard. When I put my head down, I meowed."
"As she walked in front of the house, nothing was said," added Sally Loughner, Michael's mother. "He stepped off the porch to make sure the dog didn't get out. As he reached down and got the dog, he said, 'Meow.'
"She said, 'Do you want me to call the cops again?' I said, 'Go ahead, he hasn't done anything wrong.' "
The two neighbors allegedly have a history of disputes.
Sally Loughner said the family cat was finally sent to live with her parents "to keep peace in the neighborhood."
Defense attorney David Martin Jr. sought to have the case dropped before calling any witnesses.
"This should never have been filed," Martin said. "This is not something that police should be wasting their time with or wasting the court's time."
Martin contends Carasia should have just ignored Loughner.
Police Sgt. Donald Johnston felt the charge was warranted.
"He engaged in a conduct repeatedly that serves no legitimate purpose," Johnston said. "I don't feel the victim should have to go through her golden ages being harassed by the defendant."