This Is Guernsey

By Thom Ogier

Andre, Richard, Helen and Alison Long with a picture of their cat, Gizmo, which was shot with a metal pellet. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 0649167)

A CAT has been shot with a metal pellet in Town, police said yesterday. Alison Long’s black-and-white pet, Gizmo, was hit between 7.50am and 12.50pm on Tuesday near Rosaire Avenue.

The 14-month-old male was taken to Isabelle Vets with serious internal injuries but survived after the pellet was found and removed.

Mrs Long said she was devastated by the shooting, which happened the day before her wedding anniversary and cast a shadow over the celebration.

‘I can’t believe a human being could do something like this to such an innocent creature,’ she said. ‘My family is traumatised. It’s difficult for us to comprehend,’ she said.

It was her daughter, Helen, 18, who discovered injured Gizmo.

‘My daughter came in to feed him at lunchtime. She went to stroke him and found blood on her hands,’ she said.

‘I rushed him to the vet and they said they thought he had been shot, but at first they couldn’t retrieve the pellet – then they did.

‘He is still there now, poor Gizmo. They have given no indication of how he will be, but are optimistic he will survive.’

Her daughter said the cat had clearly been in a lot of pain.

‘He whimpered at me and he wouldn’t eat his food, his favourite biscuits, so I picked him up and noticed the blood,’ she said.

Her father, Andre, 46, said Gizmo and his brother, Lucky, were the family’s first pets, apart from a goldfish.

‘I know he’s just a cat, but you still love him – a pet is like a member of the family,’ he said.

Son Richard, 14, said Lucky was puzzled by the absence of his brother.

‘He is just walking around confused and he doesn’t understand where Gizmo is,’ he said.

The family said they wanted to make the story public to raise awareness of the dangers of air guns.

Jayne Le Cras, of the GSPCA, said the incident was very upsetting.

‘The lady who owned the cat was quite beside herself,’ she said. ‘It’s just an awful thing to happen – it’s a tragedy.’

She doubted the incident was an accident. ‘I don’t think that anybody could have mistaken this for a rabbit,’ she said.

The cat’s survival was never certain, she said. ‘I’m delighted to hear that the cat has pulled through. The injuries were quite horrendous and they were concerned whether it would make it,’ she said.

Animal Aid founder Sue Vidamour said she was shocked to hear about the incident and warned that a human could be hit in a similar incident. ‘Something awful is going to happen one day – if a pellet goes through somebody’s eye or face, it’s too late,’ she said.

‘It’s time somebody stood up and said this is not right.’

She said that people who had access to firearms should belong to shooting associations so they learned to respect their power.

‘I just think if they were a member of a club, they would learn to behave correctly and it would be a far better thing,’ she said.

Acting police inspector Jane Henaghen said the incident was being investigated.

‘It is unacceptable for people to be shooting at animals,’ she said, and advised anyone with access to a weapon to always be careful.

‘And if parents are aware their children have access to any, please ensure they use them responsibly. They must be supervised,’ she said.

It causes great difficulty for the police, she said, when people are reported as carrying a firearm, especially if officers cannot tell whether it is a real gun or a replica.

‘It means we have to use a lot of resources and it is difficult. We cannot allow the public or our officers to be at risk.’

Article posted on 4th October, 2008 - 9.29am