Veterinarian Proudly Shows Off Cat She Killed

[inca]

This was NOT a feral cat. It was someone’s PET. And the TVMA already issued a statement condemning her actions.

AUSTIN—The Texas Veterinary Medical Association (TVMA) strongly condemns the actions of a veterinarian who claims to have recently shot and killed a feral cat with the use of a bow and arrow. The veterinarian, who worked in Brenham, Texas, and is not a TVMA member, posted a picture of herself holding the deceased cat on her personal Facebook page along with some insensitive remarks about the incident.

This individual’s actions directly violate the veterinarian’s oath taken to use his or her “scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health and welfare, the prevention and relief of animal suffering, the conservation of animal resources, the promotion of public health and the advancement of medical knowledge.” We are saddened and disturbed by the unfortunate actions of this individual, and we remind Texas residents that this conduct is not reflective of the veterinary profession or of the veterinarians who strive to embody the words of the veterinarian’s oath every day.

Upon learning of the troubling misconduct, the Brenham clinic where the veterinarian was practicing immediately condemned her actions and terminated her employment. The clinic’s ownership and staff have expressed their deepest shock and disgust at such behavior and are regretful that the individual acted in a manner that so drastically deviated from the conduct and values the clinic has upheld in its community for years.

We hope you will stand strong with us against this type of behavior against animals. TVMA values the trust built between veterinarians and the public based on mutually shared care for animals. We hope that we can unite to prevent actions like this from occurring in the future. friend of mine who is a vet thinks her license will be revoked.

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She did indeed violate state law. Penal Code 42.09 Animal Cruelty. Any person who shoots a non-livestock animal, which includes any stray or feral cat or dog, and a wild living creature previously captured, can be charged with a felony offense. Penal Code 42.092 of the State of Texas law states that a person must have the owner’s consent to kill the animal (exceptions to prosecution are provided in Section 42.092(e)(1)).

[StGermain]

And even if she does try to move away and quietly restart her life or her practice, the internet never forgets. The first time someone googles their new vet, word will spread. All that money she spent on vet school has been pretty well wasted, unless she goes into research or becomes a vet for the USDA inspecting animals at a slaughterhouse. She should be comfortable with that.

StG

[pdq]

Inca, I do hear you and empathize with what you have to say. I love cats, especially orange marmalade ones like the one that was shot. I had an extraordinarly brilliant and highly trainable marmalade and he was very dear to me and my family. He lived in the barn during the day, and in the house at night… AND… he wore a collar and both an ID and a rabies tag to distinguish him as an owned pet. I also taught him to walk on a leash and heel on command…but that’s another story for another time.

Unfortunately, the cat killed by this person had no collar. No tag. Nothing to distinguish it from any other cat including feral cats. It wasn’t on its own property - it was roaming and hunting like a feral animal. If it was also caught in a leg trap that means it certainly was beyond its owners property and in the domain of someone else’s property where wildlife was being actively and/or routinely hunted.

Now, I know someone came forward after the fact to say this was their pet cat, and it is heartbreaking to know your own pet died in such a manner. But like any pet that is allowed to roam at will, the owner runs the risk of the animal being killed by car, gun, trap, drowning, or being caught by other predators (coyotes come to mind as well as neighboring dogs).

She won’t be convicted of any charges as the cat was not licensed or identified in any way, was roaming wild, off its own property, and unattended. Not applauding what she did, because it is very sad that she’d be gleeful with having killed the creature. The vet clinic had to do damage control, otherwise their business would have hit the skids.

How she’ll redeem herself I don’t know. But even though the internet is forever, people’s memories are short, and virtually non-existant when distance is involved. There are many opportunities and career paths for someone with a vet degree besides general practice. However, I suspect general practice is out the window for her for the foreseeable future unless she gets married and changes her name.

[inca]

Do you live in the area pdq?

If you read the penal code, she definitely did break the law. Now, they may decline to prosecute. A friend of mine who is a vet in Texas thinks it is highly probable that her license gets suspended or revoked.

I feel sorry for the clinic owner because the internet lynch mob is out in full force. And every rumor is being repeated as fact by people that don’t live here. Out of state people are demanding that someone WHO DOESN’T EVEN WORK AT THE CLINIC be fired because they commented on the Facebook post. (This person is a vet but not even a vet in Texas.) Hopefully the uproar will die down in a few days. And out of state people are repeatedly posting that she didn’t really get fired because she is the clinic owner’s daughter-in-law, which of course is not true. She is not related to the clinic owner or anyone else at the clinic. It really is a tad out of control.

[Jhein12]

pdq… it is my understanding that the cat was missing, not just allowed to roam free. My cat is missing as well… he was strictly indoors. Things happen, pets get out, doesn’t mean its okay for other people to kill them. At least in my area, you can tell which cats are feral and which are people’s pets. If she’s a vet then she should really be able to tell. The feral cats in my area are beat up looking. Thin, dirty, little wounds.

[Casey09]

[QUOTE=Jhein12;8111491]
pdq… it is my understanding that the cat was missing, not just allowed to roam free. My cat is missing as well… he was strictly indoors. Things happen, pets get out, doesn’t mean its okay for other people to kill them. At least in my area, you can tell which cats are feral and which are people’s pets. If she’s a vet then she should really be able to tell. The feral cats in my area are beat up looking. Thin, dirty, little wounds.[/QUOTE]

How sad. I can’t imagine what that couple is going through. I’m not a vet or a wildlife expert, and I grew up around some people that took a pretty callous attitude towards animals and pets, but I can’t imagine any of the vets that I know doing something like this. It is very sad, and so stupid of this vet. I’m sure she will be able to find gainful employment somewhere, but this will follow her forever. I would hope that she feels bad that she callously killed a lost pet out because her convictions on ferals were stronger than her compassion and common sense.

[Paks]

Try

[QUOTE=pdq;8111462]
Inca, I do hear you and empathize with what you have to say. I love cats, especially orange marmalade ones like the one that was shot. I had an extraordinarly brilliant and highly trainable marmalade and he was very dear to me and my family. He lived in the barn during the day, and in the house at night… AND… he wore a collar and both an ID and a rabies tag to distinguish him as an owned pet. I also taught him to walk on a leash and heel on command…but that’s another story for another time.

Unfortunately, the cat killed by this person had no collar. No tag. Nothing to distinguish it from any other cat including feral cats. It wasn’t on its own property - it was roaming and hunting like a feral animal. If it was also caught in a leg trap that means it certainly was beyond its owners property and in the domain of someone else’s property where wildlife was being actively and/or routinely hunted.

Now, I know someone came forward after the fact to say this was their pet cat, and it is heartbreaking to know your own pet died in such a manner. But like any pet that is allowed to roam at will, the owner runs the risk of the animal being killed by car, gun, trap, drowning, or being caught by other predators (coyotes come to mind as well as neighboring dogs).

She won’t be convicted of any charges as the cat was not licensed or identified in any way, was roaming wild, off its own property, and unattended. Not applauding what she did, because it is very sad that she’d be gleeful with having killed the creature. The vet clinic had to do damage control, otherwise their business would have hit the skids.

How she’ll redeem herself I don’t know. But even though the internet is forever, people’s memories are short, and virtually non-existant when distance is involved. There are many opportunities and career paths for someone with a vet degree besides general practice. However, I suspect general practice is out the window for her for the foreseeable future unless she gets married and changes her name.[/QUOTE]
First how do you know she didn’t just put the leg trap in her own suburban back yard? Seems to me she was hunting cats. I don’t think her career opportunities are as wide as you think. Most research places do background checks and would not want the publicity or someone like that working for them. Even meat inspector at USDA is out as they are required to have a clearence since 911. I would say she’s far more likely to get a job that involves saying would you like fries with that than anything involving her veterinary degree

[Jeito]

It’s not just the killing of the cat. It’s the bragging about it on Facebook (“my first bow kill. … lol. . .vet of the year award gladly accepted”) and saying she wouldn’t be fired because she’s “awesome.” If the stories are true, she is either going through some sort of break-down (maybe her job got to her - some people can’t take pressure and are better off selling burgers) or maybe she’s just a sociopath.

[Paks]

Actually I’m wondering who is holding the camera. Perhaps some boyfriend who loves hunting and hates cats? and under his influence she thinks this behavior is perfectly acceptable? Pure speculation but really you have to wonder who is holding the camera because whoever it is they obviously approved. And as my family used to say when we were teenagers “Love is blind and leaping, usually into disaster”

[inca]

I believe her mom took the picture but I don’t know if that is a fact that has been verified. Her mom lives in another state so she would have to be visiting

One of the news stations went to the vet’s house. Someone other than Kristen answered the door. This person was not named and declined to comment except to say the incident is being blown out of proportion. A big WTF to that!

[Paks]

Well if it’s mom holding the camera I suspect the problem is genetic. And yeah sociopath.

I wonder what they would consider to be in portion. TVMA has weighed in I wonder if AVMA will weigh in now. And the Texas veterinary licensing board.

[Vindicated]

[QUOTE=inca;8111574]
One of the news stations went to the vet’s house. Someone other than Kristen answered the door. This person was not named and declined to comment except to say the incident is being blown out of proportion. A big WTF to that![/QUOTE]

Let’s be realistic, this being blown out of proportion. Very sad for the couple that lost their kitty, the kitty that lost it’s life before it’s time, and for the vet clinic who made the mistake in hiring this woman.

However, how is this gang mentality not blowing it out of proportion?
The vet clinic is losing business, the idiot is most likely going to regreat this for the rest of her life. But…8 years ago-she would most likely never have even been fired. Because the general public would not have known about it.

Facebook is the devil, this “woman” is obviously devil spawn.

Again very sad for kitty’s loved ones.

[Laurierace]

Not condoning her action nor her callous remarks boasting about her action but wanted to point out that there is a reason there are three S’s in SSS and not two.

[Paks]

Somehow I don’t think the person at the door was referring to the problems the vet clinic was now having (which is unfortunate). I don’t consider the internet to be the devil. it allows stupid people to brag openly about their misdeeds as Lindsey did and thus be exposed. Eight years ago I bet she would have posted on some board and 20 years ago she would have been bragging about it in a bar. The word would have gotten out. Maybe not as quickly or widely (the British press has picked up the story.) but it still would have gotten out.

[inca]

[QUOTE=Paks;8111630]
Somehow I don’t think the person at the door was referring to the problems the vet clinic was now having (which is unfortunate). I don’t consider the internet to be the devil. it allows stupid people to brag openly about their misdeeds as Lindsey did and thus be exposed. Eight years ago I bet she would have posted on some board and 20 years ago she would have been bragging about it in a bar. The word would have gotten out. Maybe not as quickly or widely (the British press has picked up the story.) but it still would have gotten out.[/QUOTE]

Agreed. I am saddened by the Internet witch hunt against the clinic but the act itself is reprehensible.

I will say that after reading comments on the clinic’s Facebook page from people that don’t live here, it has certainly made me think twice about forming strong opinions about situations I have no direct knowledge about. The amount of misinformation and outright lies that are being represented as fact is mind boggling.

[Epona142]

I don’t understand how abysmally stupid you have to be to think that’s okay to post on Facebook. I just really don’t.

I feel horrible for the Clinic - I haven’t been down to Brenham in ages but it is a pretty area in the spring. I have been hearing from friends and locals that they are still being harassed.

[Louise]

Yes, it’s a pity that the clinic is still being harassed. It’s not their fault. And, like Epona142, I just don’t understand how someone stupid enough to think that it would be OK to post something like that on facebook ever made it throught all the schooling it takes to get her vet’s license.

[clint]

[QUOTE=Casey09;8111504]
It is very sad, and so stupid of this vet. I’m sure she will be able to find gainful employment somewhere, but this will follow her forever. [/QUOTE]

My fondest hope is that if she finds gainful employment again, it is in the service industry, never near an animal again. Quite frankly, in my universe, there is absolutely no excuse for this, anywhere, ever.

[RackNRoll]

Part of this story is understandable to me, and part of it is not.

I can understand the dilemma of catching a cat in a trap. I have used “pet proof” raccoon traps to for nuisance raccoons who were getting into our trash, feed room, etc, and wouldn’t go in a box trap. Used non-meat based bait (marshmallows) to further avoid catching a cat or dog. Guess what. Caught an emaciated, sickly-looking, hyper-defensive feral cat. Sadly, there was really only one thing to do.

What I don’t understand is the sense of triumph this cat shooter seems to have. Even when on-the-spot euth is the most practical solution, it’s certainly not fun, and definitely not something to memorialize and distribute on the world wide web.:no: Real hunters don’t see anything fun or sporting about dispatching a helpless domestic animal.

FWIW, I couldn’t shoot the cat in my trap. I’m a hunter… but I just couldn’t do it. Had to get my husband and his .22 while I went inside the house.

[Calvincrowe]

What bothers me most, as a pet and livestock owner, is the way a vet has willfully killed a pet…a house cat…and gleefully posted a photo and commentary on a public internet site. She’s a VET. Who throws away 8+years of education, all that knowledge and theoretically compassion and love of animals, because they are learning to bow hunt??! Who does that? One assumes she’s intelligent and good at her job–she had to know that if others saw her post then they might be outraged, not happy for her. She’s an idiot for not thinking.

And as far as SSS? I just find that term and practice awful, hateful and lacking in any form of compassion. Ugh. Yeah, those feral (ha!) cats are just such a plague upon yourself.