On October 7, Los Osos resident Janessa Sites rushed her cat Shadow to the veterinarian after the animal fell off the couch and was unable to use her back legs. A .22 caliber bullet was later found lodged in her back leg with an entry wound near her abdomen.
“It's hard to keep the anger healthy and not hate someone that could do this just to like an innocent thing," Sites explained. "I'm so blessed and so grateful that she's okay. I need to just set all my anger aside and just be thankful.”
According to Sites, vet bills so far have added up to almost $5,000. Luckily, she’s received support through a GoFundMe to help with some of those costs.
“All the people have been so wonderful through this and supportive," she said.
Across the street on Lilac Drive, neighbor Jim Schnoor told KSBY News that something like this never happens in their neighborhood. They say they see Shadow all the time roaming the neighborhood on the other side of the street.
“This is a great neighborhood for cats and dogs. Almost everybody has them," Schnoor said. "It's pretty rare where anything like that really happens where an animal gets shot.”
San Luis Obispo County Animal Services Manager Eric Anderson said they don’t get many cases like this involving cats, but they do more often with dogs. He added that it can be a felony to shoot a pet.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office also said they are not aware of any similar incidents in the area, and there are no suspects in this case.
Sites is just happy to have her cat alive and healing, with her cast being removed earlier this week.
“It's looking good. If it keeps going the way it is in six months, she'll be back to brand new kitty," Sites said excitedly. "Everything literally couldn't be going better now. There's no better case scenario than this.”
Anderson recommends considering keeping your cat indoors or limiting your cat's time outdoors to ensure they are safe. He also says to microchip and have an ID on your animals in the event that your pet gets lost.
