Monday, October 09, 2006

Animals in need of our help

God, this just makes me sick.
I have pet Gerbils, Mice and Kitties at home and I could never imagine anyone wanting to hurt any of them. They are all such sweet and gentle animals. Info on how you can help is at the bottom of this re-post:

I just read this article from King5 and it's a horrible thing that happened to these animals.

$5,000 reward offered for info about pet store break-in

SEATTLE - A total of $5,000 in reward money is being offered in connection with a pet store break-in over the weekend.

The operators of the "Animal Talk" pet store and shelter say cats have been traumatized by burglars who ripped open cages, kicked the cats and stomped gerbils and mice to death.

Pasado’s Safe Haven is offering $2,500 and the Humane Society of the United States is also offering $2,500 for information about those responsible for the crime.

Early Saturday morning, thieves hacked through the front door of the store in the Roosevelt neighborhood. Volunteers arrived to find animals everywhere and dozens of dead animals on the floor.

The 44 cats that were let out of their cages fought each other and hunted the smaller animals.

“It was just devastating initially because to get to the cats and to get to the animals we were having to walk over little dead bodies,” said owner Missy Young.

Lots of help is pouring in, but much more is needed now that the full extent of the damage is becoming clearer.

A veterinarian who examined the cats on Sunday determined that seven had been brutalized.

"At least two of them had to have been drop-kicked. They have internal injuries, bruising, bleeding," said Young.

The shelter is now looking at thousands of dollars in vets bills and are in shock after realizing what the cats went through.

"What initially happened seemed like a spree, an immature and cruel act but this just goes into the realm of vicious. It's torture," said volunteer Susan Wilk.

An emerging pattern

A spokeswoman for the Humane Society of the United States said Saturday's crimes demonstrate that people who commit cruelty to animals often engage in other illegal activities.

"The suspect(s) in this case not only committed burglary but may face felony cruelty charges for intentionally killing and injuring animals," said Inga Gibson.

Gibson said studies have found that people who abuse animals are likely to escalate to violence against humans.

"The FBI has recognized the connection since the 1970's, when its analysis of the lives of serial killers suggested that most had killed or tortured animals as children," she said.

Gibson said research has also shown consistent patterns of animal cruelty among perpetrators of more common forms of violence, including child abuse, spouse abuse, and elder abuse.

"Residents should be concerned that such offenders are in their community and such crimes should be taken seriously," she said.

How you can help

Send donations to: Animal Talk Rescue C/O Animal Talk, 6514 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115.

If you have information relating to this crime, or know of someone who may have one of the stolen animals in custody, contact the Seattle Animal Shelter at (206) 386-PETS(7387) or the Seattle Police Department non-emergency line at (206) 625-5011.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I mentioned this on my new blog, too - it makes me sick. I can't imagine anyone being so cruel.

- Fred

Michelle Auer said...

Where is your new blog? Or is it top secret?

Anonymous said...

It isn't top secret outside of work... earlsopinion.blogspot.com. It's still a work in progress but at least it's a start.

Anonymous said...

I'm in a great shock! Why could that be? What did they think about, doing that? I can't imagine anyone being so cruel to kill defenceless animals.

 

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