Loren Mead watched as his cat walked toward his neighbor's home last week.
Then he heard the gunshot.
"I went over there and saw a Buddy lying on the ground twitching," Mead told BreakingAC.
That's when his neighbor James Gifford came out.
"I said, 'You shot my cat,'" Mead recalled.
"It was on my step," was Gifford's reply, according to Mead.
Gifford, 79, is now charged with third-degree animal cruelty, and was released on a summons Feb. 20, court records show.
But the danger is not over, Mead claims.
He said Gifford keeps his window open, and his dog alerts him when a cat comes along. Mead believes other animals are in danger.
Mead is now looking to move away because of it.
He said he informed the State Police trooper on the case, and was told to notify them if Gifford shoots again.
That is not enough for the man who is mourning his 3-year-old Buddy.
"His personality was great," Mead said of his lost cat. "I would talk to him and he would talk to me in different ways of his meow. I miss him so much."
