Fargo man charged for killing cat
While looking for a article to post in Dog General, I found a horrifying story. :(
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Douglas Juras said he tried for a year to get rid of Momma.
The cat, a tabby left with him by a roommate six years ago, carried dead animals into the house, slept on Juras' face and irritated his allergies. The owner said he never liked the pet, but Momma didn't seem to mind.
"It was like a rodent following me around," Juras said. "I know that might be great for somebody, but not for me."
The final straw broke late last week when Juras found a raccoon eating the cat's food inside his porch at 351 9th Ave. S. in Fargo.
For the 36-year-old Juras, it was another hassle brought on by the cat.
"I had a half-eaten rabbit running around my house one night," he said. "It was just becoming way too much."
So Juras, who had been drinking at the time, took a box cutter, held down his cat and cut its throat. The animal eventually broke free and ran under the porch. A neighbor called police after learning Juras had killed the cat.
The cat, cut near the jugular vein but not by an artery, was in shock from blood loss when police got it to the vet's office.
Dr. Gary Christian of Fargo's Valley Veterinary Hospital did not see the animal but said one of his partners put it down.
"It would be painful," Christian said. "That's a terrible way to get rid of it."
A Fargo city prosecutor charged Juras in municipal court with "cruelty to a dumb animal," an infraction punishable by up to a $500 fine.
Juras said he had tried for the past year to give away his 12-year-old cat in classified and online ads, but no one wanted it. One time he bought food and litter for a neighbor to take it, but the woman found she couldn't do it, he said.
Juras said he went to three vets to euthanize the cat, but they told him they wouldn't do it unless the cat had health problems.
Christian, whose office has a contract with the city to inspect injured animals, said Valley Vet will euthanize healthy pets, but he always first encourages owners to find another home. About three to four animals are put down every week, he said.
Other area offices, such as Casselton (N.D.) Veterinary Service and Fargo's Animal Hospital, reported similar policies. Prices can range from $20 to $50, depending on how the owner wants to dispose of the animal.
Some veterinarians might refuse the service to healthy animals, however, Christian said.
Juras said he grew up on a farm where an animal's life didn't carry much significance. In fact, he said, some of the farm wives he works with at a Fargo grocery store told him he should have killed the cat with a swift shovel blow.
"If I had taken her out in the country and shot her, nobody would know, nobody would care," he said.
Juras said he kept the cat initially for his 11-year-old daughter, who he said wasn't home the night he cut the animal. He said he realizes what he did was wrong, but he does not miss the pet.
"The cat was no more to me than a goldfish, and I'm sorry the rest of the world doesn't see it that way."
In 2003, area pounds took in 1,117 cats and 896 dogs and put down 597 cats and 94 dogs, according to numbers from Adopt-A-Pet of Fargo-Moorhead. The pounds will only take in stray animals, which they keep for three to five days before killing them.
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He only got a $500 fine. So sad. :(
