12-year-old Naples girl mourns missing cat

When we think of an irresponsible pet owner, what comes to mind?

Is it the people who abuse their pets, the ones that forget to feed them, the people that don’t ever spay or neuter their animals allowing them to overpopulate a small town. No, apparently some  think of a small animal defecating in a neighbor’s garden.

What is the punishment for this crime? Approximately 80 percent think execution. I would love to thank the 20 percent of people who actually have a heart.

However I am sorry to inform you that it is too late …  my 12-year-old little sister, who adores her pets, feeds them, cleans them, takes care of them every single day must fit this description of the irresponsible pet owner that we have all been hearing about because she lets her beloved cats out while she is at summer school.

Now she comes home every day wondering where her favorite cat, Flower, has wandered off. For the past week now she has asked neighbors, searched all around, and even hung up posters.

Last night I came home, I saw that she was crying. I asked her what she was crying about and she looked up at me with tears in her eyes and said, “Our neighbor killed our cat, didn’t he?”

Dayne Swisher

Naples