BELCHERTOWN, MA (WGGB/WSHM) – A Belchertown family told us their cat was shot with a pellet gun while wandering the neighborhood. Now they are asking the police and the public for help in finding out who may have pulled the trigger.
The Leclerc family told Western Mass News that their beloved cat, Pumpkin, came home last Tuesday night after wandering around their Belchertown neighborhood covered in blood.
“I thought he might have been bitten by a dog and within five minutes we were in the car to take him to an animal hospital because he was bleeding from the hole,” he said. Pumpkin owner Kimberly Leclerc.
They realized their cat might have been put down and rushed him to a Connecticut veterinary hospital. They said the vet found a bullet in the cat’s abdomen
“It’s a kind of high-powered pellet gun bullet with a pointed tip… It’s a miracle that it didn’t hit any major organs,” Leclerc added.
Thousands of dollars and multiple procedures and pills later, Pumpkin is resting at home with his family. Pumpkin’s family said he used to wander around the neighborhood occasionally, but after this incident he is strictly an indoor cat.
“It’s a bit scary to think that one of our neighbors did this,” Leclerc explained.
However, although he is safe now, the family told us that they are looking to find whoever did this. They posted on social media, filed a police report, and even started making these flyers. They’re hoping someone will come forward or maybe they can let their neighborhood know that someone is doing this to animals.
“…Hoping someone would hear someone talking and give us a clue as to what happened…and I hope that person comes forward…whether it was an accident or not. We want to know what happened,” Leclerc said.
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