When a family pet runs away, it’s impossible not to worry. The meals, medical care, shelter, and love that they need to survive and thrive are out of reach. But what if the lack of those things wasn’t even the worst part — what if they were within reach of active, violent danger? That was exactly the case for sweet Dagger, a 2-year-old kitty living with his loving family in northwest Cincinnati, Ohio. Dagger is an indoor cat, but like so many of our curious feline friends, he got a little too adventurous one day and slipped out the door of his family’s home. When they found sweet Dagger, they realized he hadn’t gone far — but he hadn’t been able to return home because he had been horrifically, violently abused.
A retractable dog leash had been tightly tied around his little neck. Then, whoever started there finished by tying the other end around a tree, causing such severe head trauma that it is still unclear whether or not he will survive. Chief Dog Warden Troy Taylor has not yet indicated that there is an investigation into finding who did this to Dagger. This lack of urgency, or lack of action at all, is a huge mistake. The swiftness and intensity of the violence is concerning, and without intervention, this person will no doubt be on the hunt for another animal to hurt — or even worse, they could escalate to people. We know that violence against animals is often a precursor to violence against humans. Without curbing this individual, local authorities are putting all of Cincinnati at risk.