Sandpoint feline survives shooting

SANDPOINT — Riley, a cat owned by local couple Gregory and Natalie Larson, used up one of his nine lives Monday night.

The young couple was relaxing in their Superior Street home around 7:35 p.m. when Gregory chanced to hear a low crying outside. Getting up to investigate the situation, he found Riley lying in the middle of their porch and meowing mournfully.

Riley was caked in mud. No surprise there — the day had been a rainy one, and the yards throughout the neighborhood were soggy messes. Upon closer examination, he discovered the wound in his side.

“I saw that he could only use his front paws,” he said. “He was dragging the lower half of his body.”

The cat, they later discovered, had been shot by an unknown assailant using with a .22 caliber rifle. The bullet fractured a vertebrae in his spinal column, and the resulting swelling prevented Riley from moving his back legs or tail. After being shot, the cat dragged himself with his front paws through the rain-soaked streets and yards back home, where he collapsed on the front porch.

“We loaded him up into a laundry basket and rushed him over (to North Idaho Animal Hospital),” Natalie Larson said.

Under the care of veterinarian Robert Pierce, Riley is still in rough shape. While it’s unclear to what extent he’ll recover movement in his hind legs and tail, the Larsons are hopeful. His legs still have sensitivity, for one thing, and he’s already shown signs of improvement since being admitted into the animal hospital late Monday.

The recovery process will likely take about six months, the Larsons said.

The Larsons have filed a police report and are considering a reward for information that identifies the person responsible. If discovered, the shooter could be charged with animal cruelty and illegally discharging a firearm within city limits.

The shooting likely occurred around dinnertime between 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. near the 600 block of Superior Street by Winter Ridge and Dubs.

Anyone with tips on the shooting should call police at 265-1482.

According to Sandpoint Police Chief Corey Coon, this isn’t the only report the department has received regarding animal cruelty. Some months ago, police officers investigated rumors that a group of teenagers was collecting cats and other small animals and throwing them off the Long Bridge, but nothing ever came of the matter.

“One of the best things we can do in situations like this is keep listening to those rumors and following up on them,” Coon said.

As for Riley, the Larsons are optimistic about his recovery. As a kitten, he survived an infection acquired from his pet store, and years later, he dragged himself back home after being attacked by a dog. Trials and tribulations have turned him into a tough little feline.

“He’s already down three lives, so he needs to be more careful,” Natalie Larson said.