An Androscoggin County man charged with fatally shooting a cat says he did so because the animal was clearly suffering from grievous injuries after apparently getting hit by a car.
Jake Cyr says he found the critically injured cat under his mailbox, crying and in pain.
The cat was trying to walk but its hind end was paralyzed from the apparent car strike, Cyr told The Maine Wire.
“It was dragging its rear legs,” Cyr said in an interview Monday night.
A portion of the cat’s hind quarter “was totally blown out” from its getting hit by a car, he said.
Cyr, 34, said his family called animal control but the officer was delayed coming to the scene.
He said he wrapped the cat up in a blanket and tried to keep it warm in the meantime.
But after not seeing animal control authorities coming, “I decided I had to put the cat out of its misery,” so he shot and killed it.
Cyr was initially charged Saturday with felony cruelty but the charge was downgraded to a misdemeanor once he was taken into custody.
The disabled veteran who has 20 birds and animals says that he’s been unfairly portrayed in the media as a heartless cat killer. Legacy media painted him as a monster for shooting the cat five times, but in his exclusive interview with The Maine Wire, Cyr comes across more as an angel of mercy.
Though law allows only authorized persons to take an animal’s life, Cyr felt he had no alternative but to end the cat’s obvious suffering when authorities didn’t show up quickly enough to help.
Cyr pleaded with the public – and law enforcement – to understand what he was faced with when he, his fiancee and three little kids came home from grocery shopping: a helpless, critically injured cat whose suffering was getting worse as the minutes ticked by and authorities weren’t there to initiate action one way or the other.
Cyr was freed on $100 bail after his arrest. He said he is hiring a lawyer to help explain and defend his case.
