COLORADO CITY, Arizona (ABC 4 News) - A kitten was found buried in cement in polygamist stronghold of Colorado City recently. Despite efforts to save the cat, it died.
The cat's placement may have been a message from FLDS who do not appreciate outside influence.
There is no way this was an accident; no way the kitten could have ended up encased in cement inside in a pipe on its own.
So who could do such a thing? Andrew Chatwin says it's been going on for years. He claims dead animals have been scattered all over the property of Isaac Wyler, who works on behalf of a Utah Judge in the polygamist towns.
Wyler said he has been receiving these "messages" using dead cats, chickens and ducks.
The message, he claims, is from the FLDS Church intimidating him to stop his work.
"The day we shut down the quarry I found this duck in my truck," Wyler said. "Two Days later, I found this pigeon with its head snapped off."
Wyler has made several reports to the town marshals, but said they are controlled by Warren Jeffs as well, and nothing has come of the reports.
This is the first time an animal thrown on his property was still alive, and crews were determined to save it.
After being freed from the cement, the kitten was taken to Best Friend's Animal Sanctuary outside of Kanab. Best Friends rescue workers say Thomas' injuries were very severe and that the cat was in constant pain.
Best Friends later released a statement on the incident, saying:
"The kitten was brought here to Best Friends Animal Society's clinic and many members of our staff worked valiantly to free him from the remaining concrete and try to save his life. Unfortunately, the kitten we knew as Thomas succumbed to his massive injuries a few days later. We were all deeply saddened at seeing what he went through, and knowing that someone out there clearly has suffered so much in their own life to feel justified inflicting this kind of cruelty on another living being. We were able to drew comfort from knowing that we were able to care for Thomas and show him that people can be kind and loving, and that we were able to end his pain when the time came to do so."
The
video of the cat rescue was uploaded to YouTube.
Claims of intimidation are nothing new to Colorado City. Residents have filed
previous reports of intimidation against the town marshal's office.
Some residents believe the
police are controlled by the FLDS Church and are attempting to scare them out of their homes.
The state of
Arizona announced last month they will begin to patrol the area with sheriff's deputies as a result of these intimidation claims.
