Today I’d like to talk about the case of two abused animals in South Carolina. The dog case goes global while the cat case goes (for lack of a better word) invisible.
Cat abuse goes “invisible”
On October 13 I posted the story about a cat now dubbed Robin Hood in Laurens County who was shot with a bow and arrow. The Laurens County Animal Control posted photos on their Facebook page and cat advocates even offered to pitch in some reward money to catch the abuser.
Guess what happened next? The post was removed from their Facebook page. I was able to track down a more recent photo stating Robin Hood was alive and doing well.
At no point did I see anything mentioned on the local news. Both WYFF4 and Fox Carolina are good about posting animal cruelty stories. At this point, I wonder whether either outlet was even told about Robin Hood.
We have a recovering cat and other than that: nothing! I really hate the post was taken down because a reward could have convinced someone to go to the police with information that could lead to an arrest and conviction. Is the abuser close to being caught? Who knows? Certainly not the public.
Dog abuse case goes global
Dog abuse cases are on the news frequently, attached to a reward and a contact for anyone who knows anything to report. Take Caitlyn, the Charleston dog whose abuse went global after owner William Dodson taped her mouth shut. There was a reward for over $1000 (perhaps more than that) offered by the Charleston Animal Society.
Dodson was sentenced to state prison for five years. He was given credit for the amount of time he was incarcerated. At his first parole hearing in October 2017, Dodson was denied parole and was told he’d have to serve out the entirety of his sentence.
PETA got involved with Caitlyn’s case, calling for stronger abuse laws for animal abusers.
WHY!?
Why do cats get far less exposure than dogs when they suffer abuse? This also holds true with animals being seized. Dogs needing rescue tend to get more time at a shelter when brought in from a hoarding or puppy mill situation. I won’t go into how the cats from the Julianne Westberry case were given less time. Perhaps a reader of this article would like to explain in the comment section.
I’m ashamed at the way Laurens County is handling Robin Hood’s abuse. Just because we can’t see the post on Facebook doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. I think it’s sad that a lot of people were willing to contribute to a reward fund and that offer of help ended when the post was removed.
Please feel free to comment on any of this in the comment section. I’d like to add this isn’t something new going on. It’s been happening for years now, especially in the Carolinas.
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I totally agree !! Cats are treated like second class in the animal “pet” world . This is in many places ! Thankfully this is not everywhere,as we just had a similar incident here in SW PA where a poor cat that escaped his home was apparently used as “target practice” and shot with an arrow that went through both lungs.. he came back to the house and was taken to the vet. He did not survive- this has been on the local news stations multiple times with requests for any information .idk what the answer is except for car advocats to contactvtheir local governments – vote for candidates that care about animal rights and prosecute abusers to th highest extent of the law. Prayers for this kitty and all the others that are abused abandoned and killed everyday!! It’s a sad world we live in💔
I totally agree with you, Elisa. Cats are always relegated to second class status, or no status at all. It infuriates and saddens me.😠😢😢