SANDUSKY, Ohio — A Sandusky man is facing a felony charge after a cat died in a trap he allegedly set to catch pests in the area.
Jamie Heimrich recounted the moment she tried to save the trapped cat, which was discovered by her children.
"They heard the trap close to the cat and ran to the trap, where they found the cat. They ran in the house, telling our babysitter, 'Can you please call the police?'" Heimrich said.
When Sandusky police arrived, they assisted Heimrich in trying to free the cat.
"I couldn’t figure it out, the officer couldn't figure it out, but we were trying to pull it apart, but it wouldn't work. I did everything I could to try to keep her calm and keep her from moving, and I knew the moment she passed," Heimrich said.
"It was heartbreaking, because I've never fought so hard," Heimrich said.
According to an incident report, the man originally told police he did not know whose trap it was, but eventually admitted he had set up the traps for pests in the area and did not intend to catch a cat.
Heimrich noted the trap appeared to violate regulations on trap size.
"They don't allow body traps or foothold traps above land that are bigger than 5.6 inches, and that one was seven inches, and it was not tagged by ODNR,” Heimrich said.
After a review of the incident, the man was charged with felony prohibitions concerning companion animals and falsification.
"It was very careless and very cruel, especially when there are so many children around here,” Heimrich said.
Not knowing who the cat belonged to, those involved wanted to give her a name, calling her Snowball.
Jill Kromer, who has a history of rescuing animals in Sandusky, said she had never seen anything quite like this and took action to raise awareness.
"I decided we're going to start a page called 'Justice for Snowball' because we can’t let this go. We needed to get everybody to see what happened and get justice for Snowball. She was trapped for an hour before she was freed, Snowball was tortured, and she deserves justice,” said Kromer.
Tiffany Mathis reached out to News 5 after seeing a video related to the incident, wanting to bring awareness to animal cruelty.
"I couldn't look at it, but I couldn't look away because it was terrible, and it was the video of Snowball being tortured," Mathis said.
Mathis said she also connected the family with a local business to help care for Snowball's remains.
"I called a friend of mine who works at Groff Pet Services in Huron, and she offered to graciously take care of Snowball's little remains, so she'll rest in peace," Mathis said.
Heimrich said she hopes the case sends a message.
"I'm hoping it makes people see that they can't just go around harming animals. It doesn't matter if it's a stray cat or a stray dog, they are still a life, and you still need to respect it," Heimrich said.
