LOUISVILLE, Ky. — An animal protection organization is offering a $500 reward following a series of suspected animal poisonings in Frankfort.
The Arrow Fund said the poisonings happened around the neighborhood off of Elkhorn Drive and Patricia Street.
Neighbors told the organization they believe someone set out poisoned cat food which resulted in the death of two cats and one kitten. A dog also ate some of the poisoned food but recovered.
Frankfort Police said two cats have received necropsies which revealed poison in their system. The third cat is still being tested.
"It's terrible. I cried, as a lot of people did," said Trudi Johnson, a friend of the woman whose cats died.
She said the neighbor found Styrofoam bowls in the yard.
"They are afraid to be in their homes at night now, because someone is actually coming around of their house putting out the bowls of poison and so they're very unnerved."
“Intentionally setting out poison to attract and kill animals is an inhumane and dangerous practice,” Jessica Brotzge, president of The Arrow Fund, said. “By indiscriminately setting out poison in someone’s yard, other non-target animals or even a child could be seriously injured or killed.”
Brotzge said she hopes the reward money might spark a memory.
"People that might otherwise have potentially seen something and just dismissed it as every day things, somebody put something in a yard, might go back in their mind and say wait a minute, now that this is going I might connect that and maybe I should make that call," she explained.
Poisoning can fall under Animal Cruelty in the second degree. A person charged could be sentenced up to a year in jail, and/or fined up to $500.
A few other cats have been reported missing. Frankfort Police assigned a detective to investigate the cat deaths.
"They're asking the right questions, they're coming every time they're called," Johnson said gratefully.
If you have any information, you’re asked to call Frankfort-Franklin County Crimestoppers at (502) 875-8648 or visit www.crimestoppers.com.
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