Published: April 17, 2008 02:45 pm            

Motorist rescues cat another driver hurled from car

HAVERHILL, Mass. — Jessica Santos didn't get the license plate number of a driver who threw a cat out of a car at a stop sign.

But she got the cat.

Santos and her fiance were driving through Haverhill behind what they described as an "old, blue station wagon" that had stopped at a stop sign in the west side of town. Santos said the driver of the station wagon tossed a cat out his window. The animal landed in a pile of leaves, ruffled and shaken, but unharmed. The station wagon drove away.



Santos, 29, of Billerica, said the shaking cat scampered in her direction.



"The cat was adorable and cuddled right up to me in the car," Santos said. "How some jerk could do something so cruel to such a beautiful animal is beyond me. If he didn't want the cat, why didn't he just bring it to a shelter?"



Santos described the cat as a "gorgeous, young, long-haired female calico." She named her Pretty Girl.



"She must have been an indoor cat because she's very clean and her paws are very soft and don't show any wear," Santos said. "She is very friendly and she has a wonderful demeanor."



Santos contacted the Billerica Cat Care Coalition, which immediately informed other local cat rescue groups in an effort to find the cat's owner.



"We have her in foster care," said Sharon DuBois, president of Billerica Cat Care Coalition.



If Santos had been able to take down the station wagon's license plate number and police caught the driver, he could have been charged with animal cruelty and subject to criminal prosecution. Anyone convicted of animal cruelty faces up to two and a half years in jail or a $2,500 fine.



Cats being tossed out like trash are nothing new, DuBois said.



"Last year we had two kittens come in that someone had tossed out of a car," DuBois said. "We've found cats in trash Dumpsters. We've found them in taped up boxes outside of housing complexes, and in cemeteries — just wandering around."



Mike LaBella writes for The Eagle-Tribune in Northn Andover, Mass.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.