Residents in a San Jose neighborhood say someone is targeting their pets with a pellet gun, and in the latest incident a family cat was severely wounded.
Those who live in the neighborhood near Capitol Expressway are concerned about the attacks, and one family began posting dozens of fliers to get the word out that pets are being targeted. Neighbors say it isn't the first time animals have been shot in the community.
The Beyer family is relieved their beloved cat Putter is still alive after he was shot by a pellet gun Saturday. But his injury is so severe he may not be able to walk again.
"For someone to just shoot our cat, it's just absurd," Stephen Beyer said, adding that he learned from staff at the emergency veterinary clinic that his cat also had been shot once before Saturday. "We didn't know he'd been shot before until X-rays came back showing other pellets inside our cat's body."
The family said they saw a small scab on their cat about a month ago but didn't realize it was a pellet wound. It's not the first time animals have been hurt in the neighborhood.
"One neighbor had a kitten go missing, and a hawk was shot down and landed in a yard," Beyer said.
On Monday, Chelsea Beyer put up fliers to warn neighbors. She said after she posted about the incident on social media, other neighbors reported similar attacks on their pets.
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Neighbor Thomas Estrada says he plans to check his home surveillance video in hopes of catching the shooter.
"That's his pet, a member of his family," Estrada said of Beyer. "We have to put our foot down on stuff like this."
The Beyers say they just want to make sure all the pets in their neighborhood are safe, including their other cats.
Other veterinary offices in the area confirmed they have seen a few cases of cats shot by pellet guns.
San Jose police and Animal Control are investigating but say they have not had any other recent reports of animals being shot in the neighborhood.
