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
@ Paul C
Of course they are used to death. I have had to have several of my pets “put down” due to old age or due to injuries that were not able to be cured.
However, my vet didn’t torture my pet to death or break out in hysterical laughter while inflicting as much harm as possible. The deaths were by injection and I was able to be there and hold my pets or stroke them to keep them calm while the medication gradually put them out. Frankly….I would appreciate this type of “putting down” myself should I ever be in a terminal condition.
I’m used to death as well. I don’t enjoy it or try to inflict it unnecessarily. Death is part of life and should be respected not treated as amusement.
Two different things. BTW: my Grandfather was a veterinarian and one of my Uncles as well.
DBQ – I think death in this case was quick and painless.
DBQ, While I’m not crazy about shooting ground squirrels, I understand why you’re doing it. And I laud you for not poisoning them. Poisoning results in an agonizing death for the ground squirrel and for all the animals along the food chain that then feed on that squirrel and that which feed on it … and on and on. I’ve seen so many animals which were not the original targets of the poison die as well.
So glad about your taking in foundling cats. Rescued animals are often the most grateful, sweet, and loving companions we could have. Bravo!
WTF??? Why would a vet kill animals, makes no sense!
Seriously. With this lack of compassion or empathy I certainly wouldn’t want her to touch my pets or be anywhere near them. Who knows what kind of intentional harm she would inflict on my helpless pet for her sick idea of fun. I hope she NEVER gets a job in the veterinarian field or anything to do with animals or children.
Feral cats, and dogs can be problems, but this doesn’t justify the psychopathic glee she was showing in killing an animal for the fun of it. I have hunted in the past and have shot my fair share of wildfowl as well as a few deer. We field dress, butcher and eat what we hunt and kill. We also shoot the ground squirrels, but not for FUN or to eat (yuck), but because the are difficult to eradicate in other ways that won’t also poison desirable wild animals, birds or domesticated pets. Ground squirrels carry diseases and create dangerous pasture/grazing situations where livestock break their legs and die horrible deaths.
As any veterinarian should know, there is a program where the cats are caught, sterilized and if not adoptable are released instead of slaughtered. They are not going to reproduce. Many cats are not truly feral but have been abandoned by their previous owners. Some are beyond being able to be tamed, but most are well able to adapt to domestication.
BOTH of my cats were foundlings. One very young as a kitten that had been dropped off on our property and the other as a 5 year old male who is the sweetest guy imaginable. He was obviously someone’s pet previously. He also takes care of the ground squirrels and snakes, in his own way 🙂
DBQ – vets put down animals all the time. Like doctors of people they are used to death.
http://aldf.org/press-room/press-releases/district-attorneys-handling-of-cat-shooting-case-probed-by-animal-legal-defense-fund/
Michaelb – did not know that animals had a legal defense fund. How often are they charged with crimes?
Paul,
It depends upon how you define “feral.” While “feral” has been applied to domesticated cats which have been returned to the wild, the realistic, more practical definition has to do cats born and raised in the wild lacking socialization to humans. As a companion animal rescuer of many years, I can assure you that an abandoned cat is a lot less likely to continue to act like a “wild” cat when someone traps it then shows it compassion and care. Domesticated, socialized cats may have to adapt to wild ways in order to survive but that doesn’t mean they have shed their prior socialization. Comparing unsocialized animals with formerly socialized animals is like comparing apples and oranges. However, young unsocialized cats can be socialized. And occasionally, so can older unsocialized cats.
Also with regard to a bolt to the head “killing” animals (pigs, cows, horses, etc.) for slaughter, too often the bolt to the head only stuns the animal. Some workers in slaughterhouses will do the procedure repeatedly because the animal obviously isn’t dead, but mostly they just slit the live anima’ls throat and keep the “assembly line” going.
It was said from the very begining that her family was “connected well”. There was basically no investigation. What were the jury instructions? What was the evidence presented to the jury? Where did she put the cat’s body? ( there are regulations)
another grinning sociopath…wonder how she would fare if she took Dr. Hare’s Psychopathy checklist exam?…prolly score pretty high…this woman is sick…and dangerous
Psychopaths are everywhere and so are cowardly prosecutors. Roll through a stop sign and they’ll search your car, shake you down, ruin your day. Shoot some kid’s pet, no problem. They dropped this one because they couldn’t find a freakin’ time stamp?
Disgusting. What a charming family! The poor cat is not even dead in the photo — front legs are not limp yet — so he’s just hanging there suffering.
“Kristen Lindsey’s parents apparently saw her kill the cat. Afterwards, her mom says she took the controversial photo.
In the comment section below the Facebook where Lindsey bragged about it, her mom Becky wrote “She was practicing in the yard. Jack and I were watching and saw it all go down!”
Someone named James DG then questioned whether the picture was altered using Photoshop.
Becky replied, “I took the picture!”
http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/Veterinarian-Brags-About-Killing-Cat-with-Bow-and-Arrow–300293461.html
This itchBay belongs to the Ferral Vet Pack. This is why God made rifles. I do not suggest that she be shot in the back of the head. But a rifle could be used to take out yard lights, tail lights in her car, yard ornaments, mailbox, tires, etc.
A person like her should lose whatever licensing or accreditation she has to work as a veterinarian and never be hired to work with live animals anywhere again. Let her get a job at a meat packing plant, preferably for hogs. I would never take my cat to a vet with her attitude. All vets and everyone in their offices that I have ever known love animals. The idea of shooting a cat or dog for sport would be abhorrent to them, just as it is for me. My sympathies to the family who loved and lost their little pet Tiger. A curse of poxes on Kristen Lindsey. May she never find a husband or have a family of her own with whom to spread her vile beliefs.
I think she used the same Republicans who tried to pick apart the grammar in the ACA, but this time it worked.
“The cat involved however was not feral but a missing pet named Tiger — reported missing by his owners.”
So how long was this cat running around? If the owners were concerned why was it running loose? Was it a ‘one time’ escape by the cat, or did they have a habit of letting it run?
Just because it was once a pet doesn’t mean it hadn’t turned feral. (Just not enough information here to determine.)
Who’s land did she shoot it on? Her’s or someone else? Did the cat pose a threat to her pets/kids?
Around here we have had feral dog packs. In comparison they are dangerous & need to be hunted down and killed, as they pose a risk to people. In fact there was a girl killed while walking home a few years ago by feral dogs.
I want more info before she’s condemned…for killing the cat…as for posting it, she’s an idiot.
“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.” Is this serious? Her intent obviously wasn’t to euthanize the poor animal. How is that at all equatable to killing (someone else’s pet, even more so) for sport?
Ibrahim Saberi – bolts to the head are/were used in most packing plants. It is how you kill animals for slaughter, hence the legality of its use. She accidentally got lucky.
Lindsey had indicated she “hates feral cats” (referring to the neighbor’s cat) and that they should all be dispatched that way and she would be happy to oblige. According to her mother, she has been proficient with bow and arrow for a long time. She stated she was proud of what she had done and how she had done it. That was why she had posted it on Facebook with her sociopathic boast. What this makes me wonder is what other creatures she considered objects for target practice that she may have dispatched as she honed her cat-killing skills.
This is one scary person who isn’t playing with a full compassion-and-empathy deck, especially when it comes to animals (great qualifications for a veterinarian). That potentially doesn’t bode well for her response to people either. Because I’m sure her reputation will precede her, she would be wise to change occupations. Maybe with her particular mindset and talents she could sponsor bow-and-arrow competitions using dogs and cats in cages. Unfortunately, she would probably make a bundle doing it since there are so many that find abusing, torturing, and killing other creatures just for the “pleasure” of doing it.
So Lindsey isn’t being charged with murdering the neighbor’s cat with malice aforethought because, according to the District Attorney’s specious reasoning, she didn’t really “harm” the cat. In Texas does that work for humans killed that way too?
DrSigne – when the housing market went south we had a lot of people who let and just kicked their pets out the door. So we had feral dogs and cats in the neighborhood for awhile. They coyotes got some, my dog got a couple of cats (she’s very territorial) and some were adopted by neighbors. A few of the cats are still feral but we have been able to catch and neuter them.
The major point is: it didn’t take long for them to become feral.
As a new kitten mommy, this story is VERY disturbing to me! One of my friends found a small black kitten her last week beside the road, and I thought he was a boy, sooo I named him JoIson at first, and then Sasquatch because he has big paws. He was well fed, and very friendly, and obviously used to people so I could not figure out how he got to where he was, which was beside a big highway with stores, and no houses around. Then yesterday I accidentally rocked on his little paw, and he cried, and wouldn’t walk on it, sooo I took off to the vet crying like a baby, and then I found it he was a she, and now I know why she got dumped besides the road!!! Because she was a female. Oh, and her paw is just fine, and now call her Sassy for short.
And if anybody ever shot an arrow into her, I would shoot an arrow right back into them! And worse!
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
WTF??? Why would a vet kill animals, makes no sense!
The Office of the Austin County Prosecuting Attorney.
What’s going on with these psycho b#####s from Hell? First, we read about an anesthesiologist in Virginia, who threatens to shoot a patient in the rectum with a gun, and now, we have a story about a demented vet, who gleefully posts photos of an innocent cat that she killed with an arrow to the head. No criminal charges? Outrageous! Comparing her vicious and predatory behavior to the use of euthanasia, which is often employed as a last resort to relieve a cherished family pet from undue pain and suffering, is almost comical. Who comes up with these comparisons? As a vet, isn’t she supposed to be held to a certain standard of conduct? Where is the American Veterinary Medical Association? Where is the Texas Veterinary Medical Association? No mandatory investigation regarding her sick and troubling behavior to determine if she should maintain her license? The Office Austin County Prosecuting Attorney should be ashamed of itself for not pursuing charges against this loon. She is clearly a danger to society.
I am going to say that brush is pretty high to be hitting anything. That took a heck of a shot or good luck. Who knows what she was actually aiming for?