Police share theory on robbery page 3
SPOTLIGHT
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The Similkameen
Volume 65 Issue 49
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
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Carton full of kittens dumped at town landfill Andrea DeMeer Spotlight Staff
Clients at the Princeton Landfill get a friendly greeting from scale operator Trina Michaud. “Good Day. Do you have any appliances? Any recyclables? Any kittens?” That’s because in the past week and a half it appears at least two litters of young cats have been dumped in the landfill pit. Michaud describes it as “horrifying.” The incident came to light last Monday. “My boss went down to pack the garbage and found what we thought were five of them in a box,” said Michaud. The noise of the packer frightened the animals and they scattered. “If that box had of been taped shut they would been run over by the packer,” she said. An elderly couple was at the landfill at the time and the woman “jumped right into the pit to rescue the first one.” Landfill staffers have since retrieved six other kittens, and two more have been spotted, leading Michaud to believe at least two litters have been abandoned. She said the cats are clearly domestic as opposed to feral animals, as they appear cared for and have soft non-matted fur. Six of the rescued kittens have been taken into foster care and at least three of them have already been adopted. Currently there is one kitten being kept in a cage at the landfill office – a black male cat who is older and larger than some of the other animals that came from the pit, and whose behavior is still skittish and defensive. “You can tell he’s been out there for a few days.” Michaud said she is concerned that as the
Andrea DeMeer
There are still two kittens, believed to be domestic animals, loose at the Princeton landfill site and live traps have been set to rescue them. This cat, estimated to be about three months old, is still too skittish to go into foster care and he is currently living in a cage in the landfill’s office.
story of the rescued cats circulates, others might look at the landfill as a way of dealing with their own pet problems. “We are all trying to do our best, but we cannot keep dealing with this everyday.” Kailee Gibb, who has operated Princeton Animal Assistance for two years – a service that provides low cost spaying and neu-
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tering, a basic health care for pets – told The Spotlight her organization will take any unwanted animals and find new homes for them. “I’m gearing up to make it a find-a-home program,” Gibb told the Spotlight in an interview. “I’m trying to network so that anybody
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who has unwanted animals they don’t have to dump them. They can put them into a home so we can prevent this kind of thing.”. Gibb is currently attempting to live trap any kittens remaining at the landfill. Anyone interested in contacting Princeton Animal Assistance can reach Gibb through the group’s Facebook page.
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