FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control is seeking the public’s help to identify a man who left an animal outside of the Allen County SPCA overnight.
It happened Wednesday night, when surveillance video spotted the man, who is white and was wearing a brown long-sleeved shirt with a camouflage pattern on the sleeves, dark pants, and black shoes, leaving a cat inside a pet carrier outside the shelter at about 8:35pm.
The animal was found the next morning by shelter staff and is currently in the care of Animal Care & Control.
If you recognize the man or his vehicle, call the FWACC at 427-1244 or CrimeStoppers at 436-STOP.
Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control later released the following statement:
“We have been fielding a lot of questions about the photos and press release sent out today regarding an animal left outside of the Allen County SPCA after hours. While the Allen County SPCA is an animal shelter it was closed at the time. Leaving any living creature unsupervised out in the elements with no provisions is not the humane solution. There are proper and legal channels to relinquish a pet or drop off a stray animal. Had this person gone through the correct channels and contacted Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control or took the cat to the Allen County SPCA during business hours this cat would not have spent 10 hours outside on a night that thunderstorms moved through our area. Thankfully, this animal was found by staff the next morning and is in the care of Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control.
As a public safety agency, we work hard to protect the citizens in our community and give a voice to the voiceless. Our enforcement division does not take animal cruelty and abandonment lightly. It’s important for us to speak with the person in this video so we can fully understand why this animal was left outside of a closed business.
If a person does need to relinquish ownership of their animal or drop off a stray animal they can contact our office at 427-1244, option 1 between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday – Friday or 449-3000 outside of those hours or on weekends.”
16 comments
Is it a crime to leave a cat in a cat carrier outside, at night, at a facility that can provide care for the animal? There are baby boxes where people can abandon their baby, but crime stoppers is involved if its a cat? Are you High?…If you are going to claim a crime here, this is the City’s responsibility for not providing a 24 hour drop off service.
i have to agree with you there. instead of the spca stop taking in dogs and start to deal with just cats then they might not have so many cats. and the cats might be able to find a good home.
Oh wait, this story makes sense now. Tom Henry’s sister is in charge of the SPCA…so this is just another case of a Democrat giving more Rights to an animal over a baby.
Thank you for this comment! It certainly sums up the stupidity of this “offense”!
What if this was a stray cat the man found wandering on or near his property? I can’t help but think this man thought he was doing the right thing by dropping the cat off at the SPCA rather than leaving it to fend for itself. I guess no good deed goes unpunished…
@Rocky
How does this story have anything to do with Tom Henry, his wife, or Democrats? How is this related to Safe Haven Baby Boxes? Sounds like whataboutism and comparing apples to oranges to me.
(By the way, if we did want to compare two completely different issues like Safe Haven Baby Boxes and this story, the comparison would actually be leaving a baby in a crib or stroller outside of the fire station or hospital without using the Safe Haven Baby Box. Even then, we would still be comparing two different subjects but at least it would be easier to understand the issue at hand: an improper surrender of a living person/animal in one’s care.)
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When reading this story we need to remember something called personal responsibility. A call to the shelter or a simple online search would have given the man all the information he needed. Instead, he placed the cat outside of the shelter after shelter hours. We don’t know if the cat had access to food or water or how protected it would have been from the rain that night. The shelter does know and if they want to speak to the man we shouldn’t be getting up in arms over that. Information gathering does not mean the man is going to be charged with a crime.
I’ve seen people drop of cats in high traffic areas.I guess they think someone will see it and take it home but usually the cat is so scared, it will run if you approach it.Which is more humane? Luckily this man didn’t drop it off to get hit or starve to death.
Dont cats live outside normally? How is leaving an animal at a shelter in decent weather in a safe crate illegal and inhumane? I guess the lesson here is to turn a blind eye to strays and let someone else deal with them. Unbelievable. This story is an absolute waste of resources.
I believe in this situation the problem was that the cat was left in a carrier without food and water, on a night when thunderstorms pushed through. That’s what FWACC tells us.
I know a volunteer from SPCA and this cat actually had a blanket and food in the carrier and was in great health. FWACC should be ashamed of themselves for skewing the facts to make a story out of someone attempting to do the right thing. If they truly care about animals the focus should be on educating others on proper channels, not criminalizing a good Samaritan.
This man should be PRAISED not punished! Shame on you for your over dramatic response to his humane choice to place this animal in a safe place where it will be taken care of! I have been fuming about this all day and am happy to finally be able to voice my fury.
We’re just passing along with a city agency released.
What a joke. I’m tired of this agency stepping on the rights of the people. There are laws on the books that law enforcement can use when they need too prosecute animal abusers. they’ve killed more dogs and cats than any citizen in fort Wayne ever has. And if we had a mayor that was worth his weight and he didn’t have relatives that Ran there facilities maybe he would shut them down. This is just another government agency that is used to generate revenue for the city. How about have them release reports of all the animals that they killed in the last 7 years I bet everyone would shock beyond belief.
How stupid is your animal shelter management???? You’re wasting police department time and manpower trying to catch a person that went out of his way to help an animal.
The guy tried to do the “right thing” and take the cat to the shelter. Animals should never be abused – this cat was being saved by a man that cared for it’s safety.
IDIOTS!!!!!!!!!!
do you know where to find a allen county spca location in South Florida?
it’s not illegal,to drop off a cat at a shelter,it’s not like he dropped it off in the woods.