Heartbroken Family Files Complaint After a Cop Shot Their Cat, Threw It in Dumpster

by Matt Agorist, TheFreeThoughtProject:

Stow, OH — The Stow police department is currently investigating a complaint made against their department this week after one of their officers shot a family’s cat and then tossed it in the dumpster.

“It’s not a complaint on the officer, but a complaint on procedure,” Police Chief Jeff Film told the Stow Sentry on Thursday.

“I want to say I am totally responsible,” Lynn Maganja, the owner of the 12-year-old cat named Marley, said. Maganja was out of town when her cat was shot. She admits that her son accidentally let the cat out of their home but questions the officer’s response.

While Maganja takes responsibility for her cat getting out and then getting injured when it was struck by a car, she questions the officer’s decision to shoot the cat and then throw it in the dumpster.

“This is all sort of heartbreaking to my family and I just think people need to be aware of it,” said Maganja.

Pam Busch, an area animal-rights advocate, said Thursday that she submitted the handwritten complaint the day before. She said she believes that Marley should have been taken to a veterinarian to determine his condition and whether he should be euthanized, according to the Sentry.

“Even if it’s bleeding, we don’t know the severity of the injuries. We’re not professionals,” said Busch.

What’s more, both Busch and Maganja also question the cop’s decision to toss the family cat in the trash after he shot it.

“I don’t think an animal should be thrown into trash like a piece of trash because they are not, no more than you would do it to a human,” said Busch.

As the Sentry reports, Maganja said after her son told her Marley had gotten out, she went on Facebook and happened to see a photo someone posted of Marley, still alive at the time, in a cardboard box. Realizing the cat looked like Marley, she called the police and spoke to the officer, who confirmed that he had shot the cat.

“I was in shock,” said Maganja.

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