By Elisa Black-Taylor
Kaitlyn Hughes was the only mommy a little orange tabby named Porkchop ever knew. He was only five months old last month when he escaped unnoticed from his home and was found by a neighbor, taken to the Mobile County animal shelter, and killed one minute later.
Kaitlyn is suing Mobile County, Alabama (acting on behalf of Mobile County Animal Shelter) for an undisclosed amount on charges of wanton negligence in a effort to bring reform to the shelter system, making them accountable for the murder of her perfectly healthy kitten.
Kaitlyn was on her way out the door around noon to run errands last month and didn’t see Porkchop run out the door. He’d never shown any interest in going outside, and had lived inside his entire short life. A neighbor found Porkchop and kept him for about two hours before taking him to the shelter. This is a very long story, so please read it when you have the time. It’s at http://lifewithcats.tv/2013/02/11/porkchops-tragic-death-at-shelter-inspires-petition-for-reform
After searching the neighborhood and the county and city shelters, Kaitlyn was eventually asked by her neighbor as to whether she’d lost a small orange kitten. When the man told her he’d taken Porkchop to the Mobile County Animal Shelter, she immediately called the shelter and told them she was on her way.
In her opinion, the shelter personnel weren’t very nice to her and couldn’t understand why she hadn’t seen Porkchop the day before when she searched their shelter. Kaitlyn was told at the front desk to go on back and search the cat rooms. Still no kitten. Finally a shelter employee named Andrew located the file and told her a very different story from the one the neighbor gave.
The shelter eventually confessed, saying Porkchop was turned into the shelter in a trap used to catch ferals. The neighbor says the kitten was never in a trap until he handed it over once he arrived with it at the shelter. The neighbor allowed the kitten to remain free while in his vehicle and had orange kitten fur covering his car upholstery to prove it. There is also video footage from the shelter to disclaim Porkchop arriving in a feral trap.
This is where things get really disturbing. The shelter has an unwritten “policy” to kill ferals on arrival because ferals don’t usually make good pets for the general population looking for an adoptable kitten.
However, the shelter has a written policy that all healthy strays turned into the shelter are to remain there for at least seven days. Then an evaluation will be held to determine whether the stray would make a good pet.
Porkchop escaped from his home at noon on January 10. According to shelter paperwork, he was processed at intake at 4:08p.m. At 4:09p.m. he was euthanized. The shelter defended their action to euthanize little Porkchop saying he was “feral and aggressive.” They must be BRILLANT animal behavior experts to be able to determine this in one minute!
Kaitlyn is suing the country, as well as everyone at the shelter who played a part in the murder of her healthy, lost kitten.
Comments, anyone? I really need to end this article before I go on a rampage and say things that really shouldn’t be on record. In other words, my mouth is about to engage before my brain. What is WRONG with the people who did this?
I guess you will just never have any comprehension of what it really means to love an animal.
Yes, criminal negligence. That’s why there are laws defined as “animal neglect”, “animal abandonment”, and “animal endangerment” on the books in every country. All are criminal offenses. If you let a cat roam free in traffic you can be fined and convicted of animal-endangerment and all the others. And nobody will bat an eye as they lock the cell-door on you. They’ll just wait for you to pay your well-deserved fines.
I guess you’ll just never “get it”, will you. The majority of the world doesn’t care one little bit about your cat. Finding a penny on the street would be more valuable than finding one of your cats. At least that penny is useful for something and won’t bring further wasted time and effort into the person’s life. Until you comprehend that; the more that you try to force people to love your cats (like a lawsuit is going to do that? really? that’s what you think?), the more you will make people despise you AND your cats. You’re only digging a huge hole for yourselves from which you will NEVER recover. And nobody will care one bit — about you or your cats — EVER.
Criminal negligence??? A kitten being outdoors by mistake?????
If their child got hit by a car, would they blame the car? Why then are you blaming everyone else for your own criminal negligence when it comes to cats?
Yes Elisa what is WRONG with the people who did this and what is WRONG with the people who think a cat’s life is of so little importance?
Kaitlyn has every right to sue, I hope she wins her case.
The Shelter let poor little Porkchop down very badly, they want closing down for killing a cat so quickly with no reason.
It’s alright for people saying the kitten shouldn’t have been out, they obviously don’t know just how quick kittens are, just like with small children you need eyes in the back of your head to watch them.
If a child got out by mistake should it be OK to take him away to be killed without searching for his parents or giving them chance to find and claim him?
Of course not and a kitten is just as innocent as a child, you can’t put an old head on young shoulders.
The haste with which the neighbour took him to the Shelter is disgusting, why couldn’t he just ask around the doors, it must have been obvious he was out by mistake.
So much bitterness and hatred from you Dale, I’m sick of reading it, have you nothing better to do than wait to swoop on any article you can to get your hatred of cats and cat lovers over?
We’ve all heard you, you are boring, you’ve made NO impression on our love of cats and our care for ALL cats and you never will.