HICKORY, N.C. - On Friday, Nikki Bradshaw got a new pet. If she ever finds the original owners of her pet, she'll have them arrested.
Bradshaw was driving on U.S. 321 near Ham's Restaurant at about 11:45 a.m. Friday when she saw a man in a black Escalade throw a burlap bag out the window of his car and drive off.
"I could tell by the bag that there was something moving in it. But before I could get over to it, four cars ran over the bag," Bradshaw said. "When I got to it, I opened the bag, and there were four kittens inside. Three were dead. By the grace of God, one survived."
She said she wrapped the surviving kitten in her shirt and immediately took it to Catawba Valley Animal Hospital to be examined. Although she expected it to have a broken bone or internal bleeding, the kitten didn't have a scratch on it. However, it did have a respiratory infection and severe conjunctivitis around its eyes. Bradshaw was given antibiotics to treat the kitten.
Although she was relieved the kitten was OK, Bradshaw was still upset about the fate of the other three.
"We just got an award for being an All-America City, and this person throws cats out of his car, trying to kill them?" she said. "And people weren't stopping. No one cared. If I had a green light, I could have gotten to them faster. Instead, when I was able to get there and stop, people were honking their horns and cussing at me for stopping."
The cream-colored kitten with a black spot on its ear and back leg, went home with Bradshaw. She buried the kitten's three siblings - all calicos - in her back yard.
"There were so many other things he could have done with the cats. He could have taken them to the flea market and given them away. There were so many other choices, and this one was just cruel," Bradshaw said. "I'm going to adopt this cat because for some reason, it survived. It's had a tough day."
However, she's looking for assistance in paying the $200 vet bill, as well as finding the person who dropped the bag of kittens out of the car. Bradshaw said the vehicle was a black Cadillac Escalade in pristine condition with chrome wheels. The driver was a white male in his 50s with whitish hair, slightly heavy-set, has a double chin and was wearing a white undershirt. If you have any information, call the Humane Society of Catawba County at 464-8878.
If the person is apprehended, he could be charged with between one and four counts of animal abuse, which could range from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class I felony, depending on the circumstances.
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