Eve Jeffery
A much-loved family pet was the victim of a shooting last week in Ocean Shores.
Charlie the cat was shot. His femur was totally shattered by a lead bullet. A local vet nurse said she has never seen such a badly broken bone before.
Charlie’s human Moriah Loughran said the surgeon who operated on Charlie on Saturday, believes he was most likely shot with a 22 Calibre rifle. He also believes the shot was fired from height at midrange.
Ms Loughran said that Charlie, a six-year-old seal point Ragdoll cross, was perfectly fine on Thursday morning when she gave him his breakfast on her verandah. ‘Charlie never ventures far past our yard, let alone our street. We found him at 4pm without the use of his leg – very clearly in pain.’
Vet surgeon saved Chalie’s leg
Ms Loughran took Chalie to the Casuarina Seaside Vet as her sister-in-law works there. ‘The orthopaedic surgeon that saved his leg explained that the bullet used was a dumdum bullet, so basically they shot him with full intention to kill him.
‘Up until now I would have said that we are lucky enough to live in a safe and loving community,’ ‘Now I am sickened to think that somebody living in very close proximity to me has shot our pet!’
Charlie is home now – he is on cage rest for four weeks. ‘Currently, he is very unhappy,’ said Ms Loughran. ‘He is barely eating or drinking which makes it very difficult to give him pain killers and antibiotics.
‘His leg has been plated, and he will require another surgery to remove pins. If all goes well he will hopefully have full use of his leg again. However, there is a chance that his body won’t accept the plate, in which case we would be required to amputate his leg.
‘There is also a chance that the bullet, which they were unable to remove, might cause infection.’
Ms Loughran said that it is very difficult to comprehend how somebody could commit such an atrocious act. ‘I can’t help but worry about the wellbeing of other family pets, and children in the neighbourhood.
‘We are lucky that Charlie is still alive, but this incident has very much impacted my families sense of security. It came at a great cost financially and emotionally.
Moriah said she wanted to express her gratitude to the people in the area. ‘We have had a huge amount of love and support from members of our community.’
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
