This is another shocking cat cruelty story which I am reluctant to report but I feel I have to in the interests of cat welfare. The report comes from Cheryl Bromley on Facebook who, I understand, was involved on the rescuing of these cats. I believe that she works for Sullivan County Humane Society.
Cheryl reports that the couple, Dwaine Lord and Crystal Lamonda, had moved from upstate New York to an apartment where keeping cats was forbidden. Their simple but terribly cruel solution was to cram all fourteen of their cats into what looks like a standard sized dog crate (carrier) and place the carrier outside the apartment in temperatures that plummeted to as low as 17.2 degrees Fahrenheit (-8 C).
They did this on Saturday November 11th 2017. By the evening of Sunday the 12th (around 24 hours later) police received telephone calls about the abandoned cats. A neighbor had heard “their horrific, desperate, piercing screams and called for help” (the words of Cheryl Bromley). The police called Sullivan County Humane Society and took the crate full of the cats to them.
One of the cats had already died. Another was euthanized after doing all that could be done to save her/him. In the further words of Cheryl:
“Our amazing volunteers that worked for hours late into the night helping these cats will never, ever forget the awful stench and putrid smell, the look of fear in their eyes and the horrifying screams of those babies”.
The criminal trial of the couple (the defendants) takes place on March 12th 2018. They face 14 (one per cat) misdemenour charges of animal cruelty. It is highly likely that the defendants heard the screams of the cats the entire time they were in the crate and yet ignored them. This should go against them at trial.
The cats were screaming because they were being trampled on by the other cats. Autopsies on the deceased cats indicated that they were healthy. They appear to have lost their footing and were crushed by the remaining dozen cats. Both deceased cats were covered in cuts and bruises.
Cheryl asks that sympathetic animal advocates seeking justice contact the judge: John Yazinski, 1 Police Court, Suite 2, Claremont, NH 03743 asking for a stiff sentence on conviction.
Source on Facebook (this link will eventually fail to work).
I thought animal abuse was a felony not a misdemeanor?
it depends on the jurisdiction.
I am in tears reading this. Those poor cats were terrorized, freezing to death and in a state of frenzy. My heart goes out to these kitty souls, and the two that crossed the Rainbow Bridge. I hope this couple gets slammed to the full extent of the law. Put them in a tiny cage with 12 frenzied, terrified people fighting for their lives and let’s see how they fare.😠😰
Yes, it is a new way to torture cats. The callousness of this couple is shocking. It is beyond my comprehension.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention, and for providing a means by which to ask for justice…