We have yet another case of someone losing their job after posting an obnoxious message on social media. Brenham, Texas, veterinarian Dr. Kristen Lindsey is out of a job after posting a Facebook photo in April of herself holding her “first bow kill” – a dead cat with an arrow through its head. However, she will not be charged with animal cruelty because the Austin County Sheriff Office said it was unable to verify when the picture was taken after Lindsey, 31, deleted the post. WARNING: the picture below is graphic and disturbing.
Lindsey posted the picture with the boastful caption: “My first bow kill, lol. The only good feral tomcat is one with an arrow through it’s [sic] head! Vet of the year award … Gladly accepted.”
The cat involved however was not feral but a missing pet named Tiger — reported missing by his owners.
The police cited multiple reasons for not acting. It noted that Lindsey removed the posting and related information needed to confirm time and location. It insisted “without more information, the State lacks proof that this incident even occurred in the state of Texas.” That seems a less than compelling excuse since many cases involve circumstantial evidence of the location of the crime. The second reason was more interesting: it is not clear that shooting a cat with an arrow is technically inhumane. The District Attorney noted that the American Veterinary Medical Association lists “a bolt to the head” as a humane form of euthanasia.
The lack of criminal charges has outraged many who legitimately wonder why shooting a neighbor’s pet and then displaying the body as a trophy is not animal cruelty. Moreover, the American Veterinary Medical Association, Texas Veterinary Medical Association, Lindsey’s veterinary school and her former employer, Washington Animal Clinic in Brenham, have condemned Lindsey and her actions. The clinic fired her and released a statement that “We are absolutely appalled, shocked, upset and disgusted by the conduct. We have parted ways with Ms. Lindsey. We do not allow such conduct, and we condemn it in the strongest possible manner . . . Please know that when informed of this, we responded swiftly and appropriately, and please do not impute this awful conduct to the Washington Animal Clinic or any of its personnel.”
As we discussed recently, people who achieve such infamy on social media tend to find that their reputation can follow them with devastating consequences as in the case of Adam Smith. Smith still cannot find work after posting a juvenile video of himself abusing a worker at a Chick-fil-a drive thru. It would expect that a dead-cat swinging vet would find herself in the same predicament.
Source: CBS
Regardless of other arguments, that this woman was a veterinarian should result in the loss of her license to practice anywhere.
Veterinarian? I thought this read vegetarian. Well this chippy needs to take down her shingle and find a new town to paw around with.
DBQ:
“The cat is still alive in the photo where she is holding it by the arrow through the head. If it were dead the limbs would be hanging loosely instead of being draw upward in the position of trying to run or flee. Take a look at the front paws as well as the hind limbs where the animal is not in a flaccid dead position. I know what a dead animal looks like. This animal is not yet dead in the photo.
She is hanging the STILL LIVING cat by the arrow through his head.”
Oh my God, you’re right. A dead animal is completely limp, and she’s claiming this was a fresh shot, so it wouldn’t have rigor mortis. What a psychopath.
DrSigne:
73% of the predators tested were positive for poison. Some had 5 different poisons in their system. This included coyotes, bobcats, and hawks.
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_27341376/rat-poison-killing-bobcats-and-other-wildlife
We disrupt the food chain when we develop an area. Diurnal predators like coyotes have to become nocturnal to avoid human contact, and ground squirrels are diurnal. That leaves only hawks to thin their numbers, and our property and activity provide some cover from those. Their reproductive rate is designed to withstand heavy predation, but we’ve removed many predators. So many homeowners suddenly find themselves hip deep in ground squirrels and other rodents.
Why can’t they get the information directly from Facebook? Subpoena her computers and phone?
I would be furious if anyone deliberately killed one of our pets. She clearly didn’t go to much effort to determine if the cat had an owner. And there are options for feral cat colonies, including rescues that specialize in them.
It is unfortunately common for people to kill feral cats. One of our kitties came to us as a feral kitten. My husband caught him and brought him home because people were killing the feral cats by his work. He had a runaway mite infestation, so he needed some vet care, but he’s a sweet house cat now. It took about half an hour to tame him. Our other kittie was literally dumped off in front of our ranch, in coyote country. When my husband saw him he said, “No more animals.” The kitten walked up to him, wound around his legs, and lay down on his feet, winning him over in 5 seconds flat. He runs purring to cuddle anyone who’s sick or hurt. And two of our dogs were also dumped off in the road by our house, overnight, as puppies. One needed emergency surgery, and the vet said she would have died within a day. I have no idea how they escaped notice by the coyotes. Why not pour BBQ sauce on them if you’re going to leave puppies out in a box at night?
Tyger – unless you want to feed the coyotes, you have to keep cats inside in our area.
Of course veterinarians are accustomed to death, “like doctors”, As I posted on another thread, the doctors in Virginia, while making puerile and tasteless comments, did not do any physical damage, intentional or otherwise, to the patient.
Veterinarians need to put animals down, but one would not expect them to do so with glee. I know that I would not take an animal to the woman, even a feral animal.
The physicians in Virginia have had their reputations destroyed (amid racist and sexist slurs) by people from every part of the country. I wonder if there are veterinaryian rating sites where the same will occur in this case. Interestingly, I don’t think that the antipathy of the public toward human doctors extends to veterinarians.
John Smith, that’s just one more reason I advocate keeping pet cats indoors always. Too many things, like this article also illustrates, can happen to them if you let them roam outdoors. If you love them, keep them in and safe. I have only one these days (I have had as many as ten at one time), and he is sitting next to me right now, purring as I type this. I can’t imagine life without him, or another like him.
Tyger Gilbert – was watching a program the other day and learned why cats stay indoor now. It is because of the invention of Kitty Litter, which happened by accident. Before that cats were outside critters.
Cats are predators that kill birdies. I like cats, but I like birdies too. Cats kill for fun. If you have had a cat you know this. People do too. Wheel of life, get over it.
@ Paul C
The cat is still alive in the photo where she is holding it by the arrow through the head. If it were dead the limbs would be hanging loosely instead of being draw upward in the position of trying to run or flee. Take a look at the front paws as well as the hind limbs where the animal is not in a flaccid dead position. I know what a dead animal looks like. This animal is not yet dead in the photo.
She is hanging the STILL LIVING cat by the arrow through his head.
This death was not painless nor is it quick.
That part is disturbing enough, but the joy she is showing in torturing this animal and getting her photo taken while smiling is even more disturbing. That she is a veterinarian who is supposed to be taking CARE of animals is sickening.
There is NO excuse for what she has done or is doing in the photo.
In her next life this so called vet will be born as a feral cat in some slum in Moracco where they eat cats for dinner.
@ DrSigne
So glad about your taking in foundling cats. Rescued animals are often the most grateful, sweet, and loving companions we could have. Bravo!
Thank you. Although I don’t think you have much of a choice when a feral cat or dog chooses YOU. They decide and there you are……a new pet owner. Like it or not 🙂
Link to our tom cat. (we had him neutered immediately and rabies shots etc) The second photo is not really that yellow here. I had to lighten it up to eliminate the shadows. Hope this works. Fingers crossed
http://imgur.com/a/hW9w5
Earlier this week, a Texas grand jury found there was “insufficient proof” to charge Ms. Lindsey with animal cruelty and thus the District Attorney closed the case. The Animal Legal Defense Fund is requesting the District Attorney’s files on the case because (1) it takes issue with the prosecution’s substantive legal analysis of the application of Tex. Pen. Code § 42.092(b)(2) (killing an animal without consent of its owner) and (2) it intends to examine what steps were taken during the investigation to overcome the issues of establishing jurisdiction and proving venue for Ms. Lindsey’s admitted actions.
“The Animal Legal Defense Fund is pleased to see the Austin County District Attorney taking animal cruelty seriously and we are grateful to the members of the Grand Jury for their work as well,” said Scott Heiser, a former prosecutor and current director of ALDF’s Criminal Justice Program. “Unfortunately, it is possible that the investigation was incomplete and that the prosecution misconstrued Tex. Pen. Code § 42.092(b)(2). We simply want to have a detailed look at the file in an effort to ensure that justice is served.” Heiser went on to note that, “Under the Texas Public Information Act, a prosecutor can invoke an express statutory exemption and refuse to produce a closed criminal file where a suspect was not convicted. However, it is our sincere hope that Mr. Koehn will waive this provision and allow a review of this very public case.”