Animal mutilations 'serious problem' in Blair

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Brian Rogers, with wife Crystal and dog Cookie, found his cat Remus cut in half in a neighbor's backyard the afternoon after he went missing in late July. Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump

September 24, 2010

BY ALEX PIAZZA and ART BUKOWSKI Record-Eagle The Record Eagle Fri Sep 24, 2010, 07:20 AM EDT

TRAVERSE CITY — Brian Rogers awoke and called his cat Remus in for breakfast, just like always.

Remus often sprinted to his owner for a morning treat, but on July 30, the cat failed to respond to repeated calls and claps.

"I knew something was up," said Rogers, 42, of Blair Township. "I thought maybe one of the neighbors had let him into their house or something."

Rogers scoured his Northern Estates subdivision for the missing pet, but found nothing. Later, in his neighbor's yard, he found half of Remus' body in the grass.

"It looked pretty suspect," he said. "We couldn't find any bite marks or tear marks."

The suspicion prompted Rogers to take the dead cat to a local veterinarian, who said it appeared someone cut Remus in half with a knife or hacksaw.

Rogers then contacted the Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Department. Deputies said Remus was the fourth mutilated cat found in recent months in or around Northern Estates.

"This is something that's a serious problem and can lead to future aggressive behavior," said Undersheriff Nathan Alger. "We have to find out who's responsible."

Two headless cats were found last winter on a snowmobile trail, while another resident reported a severed paw in their yard, Alger said. Authorities spoke with a few individuals, Alger said, but they didn't appear to be suspects.

Rogers also heard reports from neighbors and authorities of skunks, chipmunks and squirrels that were cut up and hung from trees and traffic signs near the intersection of Sawyer and Blair Townhall roads.

"It definitely has been progressing," he said. "We really don't know how long this has been going on."

Neighbors in Northern Estates are unsettled by news of the animal killings.

"I think it's a shame," said Sheila Stelmach, a five-year resident of the subdivision. "I don't know who could do something like that to an animal ... if you don't like them, then just get away from where they are."

Stelmach said she keeps a closer eye on her dog. Neighbor Brooke Kroush, who owns a dog and a cat, also will be much more careful with her pets.

"My stomach dropped and I almost started crying," she said of her reaction to the killings. "I couldn't imagine finding either of my animals like that."

Matt Maratea said his family is taking extra precautions to protect their pet.

"We don't let the cat out right now," he said. "Ever since we heard about it, we try to keep the cat inside. I don't understand the mindset of somebody who could do something like that."

Rogers contacted a woman who gave him Remus, and she handed the family a kitten of the same breed, which he named Remus 2.0.

"I wanted to get another Remus," said Rogers, who shares a birthday with his new cat. "We only had to wait two weeks."

The allegations shocked Mike Cherry, executive director of the Cherryland Humane Society.

"It is appalling," Cherry said. "It certainly is something that can't be condoned."

Anyone with information on the killings is asked to call the Silent Observer Tip Line at 947-8477.