POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – Feral cats have long been a point of contention. Many love the outdoor, free-roaming felines, but there are others who do not appreciate the mostly homeless animals.
But when one named Squeaky was recently found shot in Pompano Beach, Local 10 animal advocate Jacey Birch went searching for answers.
“Squeaky was a sweetheart. He lived in the neighborhood for over six years and he would come by and hang out -- we would give him treats at night,” Todd Perry said.
Perry has lived in the Pompano Beach neighborhood for nearly a decade, and Squeaky had also made his home there.
“He would go into our backyard, hang out by the pool, hang out by our back door, and he used to greet us in the mornings,” Perry said.
Seeing the sweet calico cat always brought a smile to Perry’s face.
“He was just such a lovable cat!” Perry said.
So much so that his own cat Bob often played with Squeaky, until one morning when Perry went outside for his daily greeting.
“He was breathing really fast -- there was definitely something wrong,” Perry said. “I grab my wife and we grab the cat and took him to the vet.”
“Kammy actually saw blood in his fur, and we thought maybe he got attacked by a dog or something in the neighborhood,” Perry added.
But it was not an attack by another animal. It was a soon-to-be fatal shot that went through his neck.
The veterinarian found that a bullet had been lodged into Squeaky’s spine with a one-inch entrance wound.
“When we were at the vet, they told us he had been shot,” Perry said.
“He was in critical condition when he was brought in, having a respiratory crisis, struggling to breathe and had difficulty using all four legs,” Dr. Sagen Woolery, of Blue Pearl Pet Hospital, said.
Squeaky was found in Perry’s driveway, but it wasn’t until Perry came home from the vet and was trying to piece together this mystery that he noticed the markings on the mailbox.
It’s hard to decipher from the X-rays, but a police report states that “the cat appeared to have a gunshot wound to the back.”
And it was just four years ago that a family cat named Maverick was also found shot in Cooper City. He had been shot eight times with a pellet gun.
Maverick survived his injuries, but Squeaky would not.
“This was pure and simple cruelty -- there was no excuse for it, there was no reason for it. This was not an animal who did harm to anybody at any time,” Perry said.
The Pompano Beach shooting took place not too far from the golf course and the blimp base.
So if you know anything about animal cruelty in the area or who may have shot Squeaky, please contact the Broward Sheriff’s Office or Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.