Abandon Your Pet, Go to Prison

N E W   Y O R K, Nov. 25 -- Lucky the cat's luck looked like it was running out when his owners moved away and left him alone to fend for himself on the streets of New York.

At one time, the Russian Blue was a popular new member of a household in Queens, living in a home where he was fed and cared for. Then, one day, he was homeless, suddenly having to rely on himself for food and shelter.

He was not faring too well when Susan La Marca, a volunteer pet rescuer for the Tigger Foundation, learned of his plight last July from someone who lived in the neighborhood.

"The old woman who saw me told me that that I should check out this cat. She thought his family had left him and [said] that he's skin and bones, and it doesn't look like he's going to make it," said La Marca, who provided Lucky with a foster home.

"When he first came to live with me, he weighed only 8 pounds," she said. "He hadn't fared as well as the other street cats in getting food."

Lucky could have starved to death. Animal cruelty laws vary from state to state, but in New York — and in several other states — Lucky's owners would not face serious consequences for abandoning him. They would face only misdemeanor charges, a fine and perhaps up to a year in prison.

However, some activists and legislators are lobbying for greater penalties for pet owners who would abandon their dogs and cats.

"It's like they're saying, 'I just don't want to deal with this. I don't want to deal with this problem,'" said Daphna Nachminovitch, director of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' Domestic Animal Issues & Abuse Department.

"Anyone who abandons a dog or cat who's been depending on them for veterinary care, for food and for shelter has to know that there's a possibility the animal is going to be seriously harmed or suffer a slow, painful death through starvation and dehydration, and they should be held accountable."

A Slap on the Wrist for Mass Pet Starvation

Sometimes the extent of accountability is not enough.