Bastrop, TX - Rick Bartlett, pastor of the Bastrop Christian Church, is facing charges of animal cruelty for the death of his neighbor's cat.
It all began when the pastor, who claims to have had problems with feral cats in his yard, trapped a cat.
The cat in question in this incident was trapped on Sunday, January 15.
Bartlett placed the cat, still trapped inside of a cage, in the back of his truck. He proceeded to forget about him until Tuesday.
When he finally noticed the cat, he drove him to the police.
It was there that an animal control officer noticed something that Bartlett had apparently missed - the cat was wearing a collar which included the name and phone number of his owners - Sarah and Eddy Bell.
Though the animal control officer offered to take the cat, named "Moody" back to his owners, Bartlett refused - stating that they were his neighbors and he would take care of it.
Shortly thereafter, the cat's body was discovered 40-50 feet beneath a bridge, along the bank of the Colorado River.
Moody was near death at the time that he was discovered - tragically, he did not survive.
The connection between Moody and the pastor might have never been made if not for the person who was called out to assist with the injured cat - the same animal control officer who had helped Bartlett when he brought the cat in to the police station.
Nobody can say for sure if Moody was purposefully thrown over the side of the bridge or if he was not secured in the back of the truck and jumped.
Regardless, the cat was in Bartlett's care when tragedy claimed his life - in the eyes of the law, the animal cruelty exists either way - whether Moody's death resulted from carelessness or intentional cruelty.
Pastor Bartlett may face fines up to $4000 and he could spend up to a year in jail.
The Bell family is mourning the loss of their cat - he had been with their family for eleven years. The family's five year old daughter is struggling the most - trying to understand how a man of God could be responsible for the death of her friend.
According to KVUE News, the little girl no longer believes in heaven...she just knows that her cat is dead.
Rest in Peace Moody.
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