I'M So Angry!! Ringo has been shot with a BB Gun

Words fail me....
Last night I went outside to call Ringo in & when there was no
response, I knew in my gut that there was something Very Wrong Because
Ringo is always here for dinner time....

I searched the front of the house, then out the back, but there was no
Ringo.
I decided to leave it half an hour but when the time was up, we set
out on a search party to see where he was hanging out & why he had not
simply come home when we called him. By this time I was in near
frantic panic, because it is soooo out of character....

Our neighbors kids joined in the search,& by 7.15pm we had over 8
people looking for him - he is ever such a popular puss because he is
so friendly & will allow anyone to give him tunny tickles..
We continued to search, & kept in contact by mobile (cell phone!)

At around 8.10pm, my son Ross found him. He was lying on his side in
the meadow under a hedge panting. Ross called me right away & when I
reached him, I could see that Ringo was panting & he had blood all
over his fur just under his left eye & just under his right fore leg.
I didn't have to guess too long to see what had happened to him...
He had been shot, but I wasn't sure what with.

Paul joined me, & we lifted him up onto a board & covered him with a
blanket. I called the vet from the meadow & asked if he would see
Ringo, & he told us to handle whim with care & bring him straight down
there.
It was obvious that Ringo was in shock & shivering too. I had no idea
how long he had lain there, but the last time I could remember seeing
him, was around 5.30pm, so we don't know what time this had happened.
You wouldn't believe how fast my trusty old Ford escort shot down the
motorway, I would never have believed it could go that fast,
seriously!!

On arrival, we were met, & he was seen straight away. I went into the
consultation room with him, & the vet had a quick look & told me that
he had to get an xray done as fast as possible, & then onto theater if
nessacery to get the pellets out, because he was conerned that the
pellet might have penetrated some of his organs & the fear of him
dying of shock was quite possible, so they wanted to get him seen to
as fast as possible, so we left them to get on with it.

It is such a terrible feeling You feel so helpless;o(

The vet already had assisting staff to help him because they have a 24
hour facility, so they were able to proceed immediately...
We were told to go home and that they would call us as soon as they
had any news for us. Just over an hour and a half later, we got a call
to say that Ringo had got through the surgery. They managed to get the
pellet out of his foreleg & it was logged into his bone, & also that
he had got the pellet out of his jaw, but he wasn't sure if Ringo lost
his sight in his out of his left eye, because it was logged so near to
the optic nerve that he did consider leaving it in case he caused more
damage than was already done. He also told us that the one in his leg
was shot at almost blank rang too

As you can imagine, we shot down there to see him, but he was very
sedated, & didn't manage much more than a hand lick & an ear tickle.
I Can't describe the RAGE that we feel, knowing that someone who lives
near us had thought it funny to shoot him ,quite possibly knowing that
it was our cat too..
Whilst waiting for Ringo to come out of surgery, we called the police
to alert them to the fact that we have a loose canon in the
neighborhood, & we also called the RSPCA to alert them too, only to
find out that Ringo was only one of four cats who had been shot
yesterday on our nearest estate.
I feel sick to the pit of my stomach knowing that someone could
possibly do that to a poor defenseless cat, who has done them no harm
at all. How could anyone shoot a cat at blank range? It wouldn't
surprise me if it turns out to be a child who's parents have bought it
for them as a gift.....

THEY SHOULD BE MADE ILLEGAL...!!!!!
Sorry, but I feel so ANGRY

Ringo is still in special care room, but doing much better today. He
remains sedated & is responding well. He still has his hydration drip
in his other fore leg, but he did try to lap some water earlier today.
He looks like a mini mummy with all of the bandages round his head and
his leg where they splinted him & strapped him under his fore leg..

My kids are keeping their ears open to see if they can find out who
has a new BB pellet gun recently, Or who was in the meadow last night
around the same time last night. No doubt even if we do find out how
it was, the worst that will happen is that they *MIGHT* get a rap on
the knuckles & a public caution. In fact the best thing we could hope
for, is for the police to remeove the gun to stop it happening
again..If we are lucky, that is
Whats to stop them going straight out to buy another one tomorrow..?
I hope that I don't find out who did it, because right now, I am too
angry to deal with it
The boys used to wonder why I wouldn't allow them to have a BB gun, &
yesterday the learnt exactly why..not one of them wants one now. I
think that they are as outraged as we are

Sheelagh

on Fri, 23 Mar 2007 16:21:57 GMT, "sheelagh"
wrote:

I feel sick to the pit of my stomach knowing that someone could
possibly do that to a poor defenseless cat, who has done them no harm
at all.

Oh, Sheelagh... Oh my god. Poor Ringo. seriously bawling my eyes out
here I'm so devastated for you all, and so angry about what happened that
words fail me. Please keep us informed on Ringo's progress. I have a
special place in my heart for that boy. I'm just sick about this. I can't
imagine the mix of emotions you must be feeling. I'm sure they are
overwhelming.

Try to stay strong, I know you've been through so much lately. You are all
in my thoughts.

--
Lynne

I am so sorry Sheelagh. The feeling I call it like a person be raped the
feeling of helplessness, the feeling of deception, the feeling of
violation.

I know I would be using a large burlap bag, a phonebook and a lead pipe no
evidence no trace no bruises that person would be praying to what ever god
they believed in by the time I was done. Let them feel what you felt that
would be one heck of a lesson


"sheelagh" wrote in message
ups.com...
Words fail me....
Last night I went outside to call Ringo in & when there was no
response, I knew in my gut that there was something Very Wrong Because
Ringo is always here for dinner time....

I searched the front of the house, then out the back, but there was no
Ringo.
I decided to leave it half an hour but when the time was up, we set
out on a search party to see where he was hanging out & why he had not
simply come home when we called him. By this time I was in near
frantic panic, because it is soooo out of character....

Our neighbors kids joined in the search,& by 7.15pm we had over 8
people looking for him - he is ever such a popular puss because he is
so friendly & will allow anyone to give him tunny tickles..
We continued to search, & kept in contact by mobile (cell phone!)

At around 8.10pm, my son Ross found him. He was lying on his side in
the meadow under a hedge panting. Ross called me right away & when I
reached him, I could see that Ringo was panting & he had blood all
over his fur just under his left eye & just under his right fore leg.
I didn't have to guess too long to see what had happened to him...
He had been shot, but I wasn't sure what with.

Paul joined me, & we lifted him up onto a board & covered him with a
blanket. I called the vet from the meadow & asked if he would see
Ringo, & he told us to handle whim with care & bring him straight down
there.
It was obvious that Ringo was in shock & shivering too. I had no idea
how long he had lain there, but the last time I could remember seeing
him, was around 5.30pm, so we don't know what time this had happened.
You wouldn't believe how fast my trusty old Ford escort shot down the
motorway, I would never have believed it could go that fast,
seriously!!

On arrival, we were met, & he was seen straight away. I went into the
consultation room with him, & the vet had a quick look & told me that
he had to get an xray done as fast as possible, & then onto theater if
nessacery to get the pellets out, because he was conerned that the
pellet might have penetrated some of his organs & the fear of him
dying of shock was quite possible, so they wanted to get him seen to
as fast as possible, so we left them to get on with it.

It is such a terrible feeling You feel so helpless;o(

The vet already had assisting staff to help him because they have a 24
hour facility, so they were able to proceed immediately...
We were told to go home and that they would call us as soon as they
had any news for us. Just over an hour and a half later, we got a call
to say that Ringo had got through the surgery. They managed to get the
pellet out of his foreleg & it was logged into his bone, & also that
he had got the pellet out of his jaw, but he wasn't sure if Ringo lost
his sight in his out of his left eye, because it was logged so near to
the optic nerve that he did consider leaving it in case he caused more
damage than was already done. He also told us that the one in his leg
was shot at almost blank rang too

As you can imagine, we shot down there to see him, but he was very
sedated, & didn't manage much more than a hand lick & an ear tickle.
I Can't describe the RAGE that we feel, knowing that someone who lives
near us had thought it funny to shoot him ,quite possibly knowing that
it was our cat too..
Whilst waiting for Ringo to come out of surgery, we called the police
to alert them to the fact that we have a loose canon in the
neighborhood, & we also called the RSPCA to alert them too, only to
find out that Ringo was only one of four cats who had been shot
yesterday on our nearest estate.
I feel sick to the pit of my stomach knowing that someone could
possibly do that to a poor defenseless cat, who has done them no harm
at all. How could anyone shoot a cat at blank range? It wouldn't
surprise me if it turns out to be a child who's parents have bought it
for them as a gift.....

THEY SHOULD BE MADE ILLEGAL...!!!!!
Sorry, but I feel so ANGRY

Ringo is still in special care room, but doing much better today. He
remains sedated & is responding well. He still has his hydration drip
in his other fore leg, but he did try to lap some water earlier today.
He looks like a mini mummy with all of the bandages round his head and
his leg where they splinted him & strapped him under his fore leg..

My kids are keeping their ears open to see if they can find out who
has a new BB pellet gun recently, Or who was in the meadow last night
around the same time last night. No doubt even if we do find out how
it was, the worst that will happen is that they *MIGHT* get a rap on
the knuckles & a public caution. In fact the best thing we could hope
for, is for the police to remeove the gun to stop it happening
again..If we are lucky, that is
Whats to stop them going straight out to buy another one tomorrow..?
I hope that I don't find out who did it, because right now, I am too
angry to deal with it
The boys used to wonder why I wouldn't allow them to have a BB gun, &
yesterday the learnt exactly why..not one of them wants one now. I
think that they are as outraged as we are

Sheelagh

On 23 Mar, 16:30, Lynne wrote:
on Fri, 23 Mar 2007 16:21:57 GMT, "sheelagh"

wrote:
I feel sick to the pit of my stomach knowing that someone could
possibly do that to a poor defenseless cat, who has done them no harm
at all.

Oh, Sheelagh... Oh my god. Poor Ringo. seriously bawling my eyes out
here I'm so devastated for you all, and so angry about what happened that
words fail me. Please keep us informed on Ringo's progress. I have a
special place in my heart for that boy. I'm just sick about this. I can't
imagine the mix of emotions you must be feeling. I'm sure they are
overwhelming.
Lynne
Try to stay strong, I know you've been through so much lately. You are all
in my thoughts.

I will, & thank you very much for your words of comfort Lynne.
I was in shock for hours last night. It took a good 3hours for it to
sink in, & then Rage took over...I wanted to go bang, especially when
we found out that we were only one of 3 families affected by the same
loose canon.
I have the name of one family, so I intend to go and see them later
this evening, because I know them.
If there is anything that we can do to stop it happening again, I will
do it,
short of violence.

Of course I will keep you up dated on how he is coming along.
It is simply bad luck that we have been affected yet again, but I do
believe that things that come, round, will go around...
It will come back to haunt them one day!!
S;o)

I know I would be using a large burlap bag, a phonebook and a lead
pipe no
evidence no trace no bruises that person would be praying to what
ever god
they believed in by the time I was done. Let them feel what you felt
that
would be one heck of a lesson
Matthew

You have no idea how tempting it was Matthew. I was soooo ANGRY;o(
It still is to be perfectly honest..But I know that it would end up
with me getting locked up for violence rather than them which is
ludicrous.
I am sure that God's eyes were open when it happend, & it always comes
back to you when you wrong someone. In this case it was a cat....What
happens when it is a child's eye..?
I can't believe how blase they were...(Police)
S.

Sheelagh,

I'm so sorry. It's just horrible--how someone can do that to a friendly,
defenseless animal is beyond me. You are probably right about the slap on
the wrist, even if the person is caught. This just makes me so furious. I
hope there's a special place in hell for these people.

I really hope Ringo comes through this okay. I'm glad you have a 24 hour
vet hospital close by. You've just been through too much with your cats
lately. I was thinking about you last night and wondering how Tiggy and the
rest of your kitties are doing and then to hear about Ringo.

Sending healing thoughts and purrs your way,

Bonnie

"sheelagh" wrote in message
ups.com...
Words fail me....
Last night I went outside to call Ringo in & when there was no
response, I knew in my gut that there was something Very Wrong Because
Ringo is always here for dinner time....

I searched the front of the house, then out the back, but there was no
Ringo.
I decided to leave it half an hour but when the time was up, we set
out on a search party to see where he was hanging out & why he had not
simply come home when we called him. By this time I was in near
frantic panic, because it is soooo out of character....

Our neighbors kids joined in the search,& by 7.15pm we had over 8
people looking for him - he is ever such a popular puss because he is
so friendly & will allow anyone to give him tunny tickles..
We continued to search, & kept in contact by mobile (cell phone!)

At around 8.10pm, my son Ross found him. He was lying on his side in
the meadow under a hedge panting. Ross called me right away & when I
reached him, I could see that Ringo was panting & he had blood all
over his fur just under his left eye & just under his right fore leg.
I didn't have to guess too long to see what had happened to him...
He had been shot, but I wasn't sure what with.

Paul joined me, & we lifted him up onto a board & covered him with a
blanket. I called the vet from the meadow & asked if he would see
Ringo, & he told us to handle whim with care & bring him straight down
there.
It was obvious that Ringo was in shock & shivering too. I had no idea
how long he had lain there, but the last time I could remember seeing
him, was around 5.30pm, so we don't know what time this had happened.
You wouldn't believe how fast my trusty old Ford escort shot down the
motorway, I would never have believed it could go that fast,
seriously!!

On arrival, we were met, & he was seen straight away. I went into the
consultation room with him, & the vet had a quick look & told me that
he had to get an xray done as fast as possible, & then onto theater if
nessacery to get the pellets out, because he was conerned that the
pellet might have penetrated some of his organs & the fear of him
dying of shock was quite possible, so they wanted to get him seen to
as fast as possible, so we left them to get on with it.

It is such a terrible feeling You feel so helpless;o(

The vet already had assisting staff to help him because they have a 24
hour facility, so they were able to proceed immediately...
We were told to go home and that they would call us as soon as they
had any news for us. Just over an hour and a half later, we got a call
to say that Ringo had got through the surgery. They managed to get the
pellet out of his foreleg & it was logged into his bone, & also that
he had got the pellet out of his jaw, but he wasn't sure if Ringo lost
his sight in his out of his left eye, because it was logged so near to
the optic nerve that he did consider leaving it in case he caused more
damage than was already done. He also told us that the one in his leg
was shot at almost blank rang too

As you can imagine, we shot down there to see him, but he was very
sedated, & didn't manage much more than a hand lick & an ear tickle.
I Can't describe the RAGE that we feel, knowing that someone who lives
near us had thought it funny to shoot him ,quite possibly knowing that
it was our cat too..
Whilst waiting for Ringo to come out of surgery, we called the police
to alert them to the fact that we have a loose canon in the
neighborhood, & we also called the RSPCA to alert them too, only to
find out that Ringo was only one of four cats who had been shot
yesterday on our nearest estate.
I feel sick to the pit of my stomach knowing that someone could
possibly do that to a poor defenseless cat, who has done them no harm
at all. How could anyone shoot a cat at blank range? It wouldn't
surprise me if it turns out to be a child who's parents have bought it
for them as a gift.....

THEY SHOULD BE MADE ILLEGAL...!!!!!
Sorry, but I feel so ANGRY

Ringo is still in special care room, but doing much better today. He
remains sedated & is responding well. He still has his hydration drip
in his other fore leg, but he did try to lap some water earlier today.
He looks like a mini mummy with all of the bandages round his head and
his leg where they splinted him & strapped him under his fore leg..

My kids are keeping their ears open to see if they can find out who
has a new BB pellet gun recently, Or who was in the meadow last night
around the same time last night. No doubt even if we do find out how
it was, the worst that will happen is that they *MIGHT* get a rap on
the knuckles & a public caution. In fact the best thing we could hope
for, is for the police to remeove the gun to stop it happening
again..If we are lucky, that is
Whats to stop them going straight out to buy another one tomorrow..?
I hope that I don't find out who did it, because right now, I am too
angry to deal with it
The boys used to wonder why I wouldn't allow them to have a BB gun, &
yesterday the learnt exactly why..not one of them wants one now. I
think that they are as outraged as we are

Sheelagh

On 23 Mar, 18:00, "cybercat" wrote:
"sheelagh" wrote

THEY SHOULD BE MADE ILLEGAL...!!!!!
Sorry, but I feel so ANGRY

All you have to do is keep him in.

I know that you are right Cyber...

I do normally keep him in, but he had been crying to go out, & I gave
in to him.
(have no excuses to hand out, because you are right)

Normally, he only sits in the back garden under the tree, but for some
reason yesterday he decided to wonder into the meadow...

I can't help likening it to a child being shot though. Both
defenseless & never asked for it to be done to them.
However, it is only an instance...
I am aware that it is my own fault, & I don't feel very pleased or
proud of myself either
S.

On 23 Mar, 17:09, "22brix" wrote:
Sheelagh,

I'm so sorry. It's just horrible--how someone can do that to a friendly,
defenseless animal is beyond me. You are probably right about the slap on
the wrist, even if the person is caught. This just makes me so furious. I
hope there's a special place in hell for these people.

Thanks Bonnie.
Cyber is right
sigh

I do blame myself for it happening to him, but I am still outraged
that anyone would do this to the sweetest friendliest cat on the
block.

I also hope that there is a special place in hell for them as well. It
seems really wrong that they get away with it. You hardly ever hear of
anyone getting as far as court when things like this happen..

I really hope Ringo comes through this okay. I'm glad you have a 24 hour
vet hospital close by. You've just been through too much with your cats
lately. I was thinking about you last night and wondering how Tiggy and the
rest of your kitties are doing and then to hear about Ringo.

Sending healing thoughts and purrs your way,
Thanks for the soothing purrs, I will pass them on to him shortly

So are we. Just a few short weeks ago, we would have taken him to the
previous vet, who had no 24 hour care.
Thank goodness that we did move them over!

Your right, I seem to have spent a hell of a lot of time @ the vets
recently, but then again I wouldn't have it any other way. At least I
feel that I can trust this surgery & I do have full confidence in them
too.

Tiggy came home yesterday afternoon with a horrible bill, that they
have kindly allowed me to pay in three instalments ...

( you have no idea how embarrassing it was having to ask if that was
possible)
blush!!

Tiggy is soo much better now;o)
We have given over the extension to her so that she has her own
personal space away from all of the other cats, with her own bowl,
feeding trough & litter too...
She still looks a little delicate, but that should pass soon
hopefully. We were given pain meds for the 1st time ever too.
I was shocked when I saw everyone posting pain meds, because we
have NEVER been offered any for the other cats before Tiggy's op. I
was shocked!!

Tigs is eating normally, drinking fine & she is ever so easy to give
meds to, so we have no problems there either.
she looks ever so odd where they have shaved her though..
A bit like Sylvester out of tweety pie and Sylvester, lol...

Got to go and do mum's taxi service for the kids for couple of hours,
then pop over to see hi to himagain for a while before picking them
up again. Seems pointless coming home, only to turn round and go back
again
S.


-

on Fri, 23 Mar 2007 17:12:10 GMT, "sheelagh"
wrote:

I do normally keep him in, but he had been crying to go out, & I gave
in to him.
(have no excuses to hand out, because you are right)

Sheelagh, don't blame yourself. Things are different in England and it's
customary for cats to be indoor/outdoor. However, in light of what has
happened to Ringo, I think you should start keeping them all in. Perhaps
you can build a large outdoor cat run for them.

At any rate, don't feel guilty. There's absolutely nothing to be
accomplished with that. With all the emotional turmoil you've endured
recently, staying centered is going to be tough. Take care of Ringo, but
don't forget to take care of yourself, too!

--
Lynne

on Fri, 23 Mar 2007 17:36:21 GMT, "sheelagh"
wrote:

It
seems really wrong that they get away with it. You hardly ever hear of
anyone getting as far as court when things like this happen..

We are seeing a turn to that tide here in the US. I hear more and more of
stiff punishments for people who abuse animals. I hope England will come
along on that front, too.

Poor Ringo... this is so heartbreaking.

--
Lynne

"sheelagh" wrote
THEY SHOULD BE MADE ILLEGAL...!!!!!
Sorry, but I feel so ANGRY


All you have to do is keep him in.