Vigil held
following troubling cat burning incident; $1,000 reward offered
by Tesha M. Christensen
When she heard about the cat burning incident at Longfellow
Park the morning of the 2012 Minnesota primary, Kristy Snyder was upset.
“It felt a bit unreal that it happened in our park, said
Snyder, a four-year Longfellow resident. “While I hurt for the person that
discovered it, I was so grateful it was not a kid that stumbled upon that
scene.”
A Longfellow Park employee found a cat burnt to death on the
south end of the park just before dawn on Tuesday, Aug. 13. It was impaled with
an American flag. An Osama/Biden lawn sign was nearby. The incident is being
treated as a Homeland Security offense, and both the Secret Service and the FBI
are involved in the investigation.
Snyder and her husband, Dave, told their two kids, Spencer,
age 5, and Nora, age 3, about what happened at the park they play at frequently.
Snyder didn’t want them hearing about it from others.
“I felt a bit stuck about how to re-enter that park,” Snyder
admitted. So she, together with her kids, neighbor Kathy Cassidy and her
daughters Nora and Naomi Sojourner, decided to organize an vigil.
“We all thought marching around the perimeter of the park
would be very symbolic,” said Snyder.
Over 50 people attended the vigil on Wednesday evening, Aug.
15. Community members made chalk drawings of cats on the sidewalks. Kids faces
were decorated with cat whiskers and noses. One neighbor showed up to make cat
balloon animals for the kids.
On behalf of the Longfellow Faith Forum, James Pennington
from Spirit of the Lakes Church opened up the event’s program with a blessing.
Minneapolis Council Member Gary Schiff spoke, bringing along his dog, Butters,
who “stands in solidarity with all animals against animal cruelty.”
Five-year-old Spencer Snyder was pleased with the event. “It
did go really well. I was happiest with the parade. There was so many people
that I couldn’t even count! It was so lovely, it went so well! I would
just love to do it again!”
District 3 Park Commissioner Scott Vreeland was not able to
attend the event that served as an antidote to a crime he calls “bizarre,” and
“troubling,” but he agrees that it was important to do something to put “good
vibes back in the park.”
He hopes that the perpetrator turns him/herself in and gets
some help.
“It doesn’t make sense,” said Vreeland. “As humans we want to
know why and it’s not always possible.”
A $1,000 reward has been offered by the Minnesota Federation
Humane Society. Call 612-866-8663 or 1-877-8ANIMAL.
“It’s an unspeakable act and we want to make people aware
this happened and we’re not going to put up with it,” said Minnesota Federated
Humane Society Paralegal Kate Murray.
“Our goal is to get the word out and see if anyone comes forward.”
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