Gris was somebody's cat. On November 8, his family heard him meowing and went looking. They found him caught in an animal trap on their next-door neighbor's property in Putnam County, Florida.
According to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office, the neighbor then fired a pistol at Gris while he was trapped and helpless. Deputies say the man admitted to killing the cat, said it had been killing his chickens, and told them he threw Gris's body onto a nearby road. He was arrested and charged with aggravated animal cruelty, a third-degree felony.
A cat confined in a trap cannot run, cannot hide, and poses no threat to anyone. Whatever frustration someone has with a neighbor's animal, there are lawful options: talk to the neighbor, call animal control, relocate the animal. Shooting a trapped pet is not one of them, and Florida law treats it as the serious crime it is.
I'm Eric with I Love Every Dog, and I love every cat too. Cases like this are too often quietly reduced or dropped once the headlines fade. I'm asking State Attorney R.J. Larizza of Florida's Seventh Judicial Circuit, whose office prosecutes cases in Putnam County, to:
1. Formally file the felony aggravated animal cruelty charge and prosecute it fully.
2. Reject any plea deal that reduces this to a misdemeanor.
3. Ask the court to prohibit the defendant from owning or possessing animals as a condition of any sentence.
Gris's family deserves to know that his life mattered under the law. Please sign and stand with them.
