No charges for Texas veterinarian who killed cat with bow and arrow
BELLVILLE, Texas - A Houston-area veterinarian who killed a cat with a bow and arrow will not face charges at this time after an Austin County grand jury declined to indict her for animal cruelty, reports CBS affiliate KHOU.
The jury "no-billed" the animal doctor, indicating they examined all the evidence and determined there was insufficient proof to charge.
The vet, whose name the station is withholding because she was not charged with a crime, was accused after posting a picture to Facebook back in April where she is holding up a dead cat with an arrow through its head, bragging about her kill. The picture was reportedly captioned: "The only good feral tomcat, is one with an arrow through its head."
The Austin County Sheriff's Office say they received an unsworn hearsay report that the vet was acting to protect her pets from a "potentially rabid stray cat."
Investigators were reportedly not able to determine where or when the incident took place, and without that information they lacked probable cause to obtain a search warrant for any Austin County properties pertaining to the incident.
Investigators said subpoenas to Facebook failed to produce usable evidence since the veteranian's account had been deleted prior to the sheriff's office learning of the incident.
Many people were outside the Austin County Courthouse Wednesday protesting and demanding an indictment.
The cat was named Tiger, and KHOU spoke with his pet-sitter on Wednesday.
"He went missing at the time, and when I saw the picture in my heart I knew it was him," Amy Hemsell said. "I'm hoping that she is punished to the fullest extent for animal cruelty."
The veterinarian has since been fired from her job.