They say it was more than a mistake, it was an insult to veterans. A Central Kentucky family says their deceased cat got a letter inviting him to join the American Legion, even thanking him for his service.
Colleen Harris says her husband, Cecil, loved serving his country, and raising his daughter and step-son. The family lost Cecil last May, and lost their cat Samson a few years before that. Surprisingly, it's Samson's service in combat now being recognized by the American Legion.
"The only war he ever fought was chasing mice," says Harris.
She wants to thank all the veterans she knows, hoping the American Legion will do the same before turning to more cats for more membership dues.
"They need to be maybe a little more particular on how they solicit and not be so worried about everybody sending in their $25."
The Kentucky American Legion says unfortunately, letters are sometimes sent to non-service members. They say national headquarters purchases mailing lists that aren't always accurate, but credentials are later verified through local posts.
"There are no authenticated cases of truly melanistic cougars (pumas). Melanistic cougars have never been photographed or shot in the wild and none has ever been bred. There is wide consensus among breeders and biologists that the animal does not exist."
"Black cougars have been reported in Kentucky and in the Carolinas."
"In addition to the crimes for which he is accused in this case, he was accused and convicted of several similar incidents inflicting animal abuse and death as well as stalking and abuse against women in Columbus, Ohio, (and) Wauseon, Ohio," Wright wrote the judge in the case.
A Wauseon, Ohio, woman, who told prosecutors she lived with Swigart in the late 1990s, said he repeatedly abused her and once held her at knifepoint.
The woman told prosecutors Swigart came to her home after she ended their relationship, "placed her pet cat in a shoe box and sealed the box closed with tape. He then shot the box, with the cat inside, with a shotgun, killing the cat," according to the affidavit.
The woman said Swigart then forced her to look at her dead cat "and threatened that he would do the same to her," according to court records.
Another woman, who said she had a brief relationship with Swigart in Columbus, told prosecutors he "unlawfully entered her apartment and harmed her dogs" after their relationship ended. She said Swigart told her "he had hurt the dogs so badly that he had 'left them at death's door.'"
The woman said Swigart also boasted of killing a female roommate's cat, according to court documents.
