‘She was my friend’: Bellingham couple’s cat is shot and killed. They’d like to know why
A Bellingham couple is looking for answers after finding their cat, Opal, shot and killed last week near their home in the Samish Hill neighborhood.
Matthew Dudgeon and his wife, Julie Steele, left on a weekend trip out of town and returned on June 19 to their home on Ridgemont Court. They immediately noticed Opal wasn’t around.
“I noticed she hadn’t touched her food very much and there wasn’t a lot of cat sign,” Dudgeon said. “I assumed she had probably been out playing. She does have quite a range.”
By Tuesday evening, Dudgeon says he decided to take a walk around the block to see whether he could find her.
“No sign — calling for her,” Dudgeon told The Bellingham Herald. “Then I walked up the back alley to the back side of the house and I saw her lying there in the tall grass.”
Opal had a hole in her gut “and looked like she’d been shot,” Dudgeon said.
Dudgeon says they aren’t sure who could have done this or the reason for the shooting. But he believes it was purposeful because this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.
Another one of their cats was shot in the same neighborhood about four years ago, he said.
Steele took to the social media platform NextDoor last week to ask neighbors for any information. The post read:
Ridgemont Neighbors: Our second cat has now been shot/killed by a cruel neighbor. If anyone heard any gunshots (pellet) over the weekend and where they came from, we are interested. We reside at Ridgemont Court and would appreciate any information about potential animal abusers. Thank you for your time.
As of Tuesday, no reports of the shooting had been made to police, though Dudgeon said they were considering doing that.
“It’s just a real bummer that this happened. She was my friend. She was a great mouser and it’s just a shame that she went out like that,” Dudgeon said. “I’m glad I found her though.”
Local history of cat abuse
Bellingham and Whatcom County have seen several incidents of abuse toward cats over the last few years.
In 2015, a Ferndale woman’s cat had to be euthanized after she found it with a bullet fragment in its spine.
In September 2019, the Bellingham Police Department and Whatcom Humane Society investigated two cat deaths of undetermined causes that occurred within a week of each other. At the time, the Whatcom Humane Society was strongly encouraging people to keep their cats indoors and to report any suspicious activity to police.
In November 2019, a cat was found unresponsive after being placed into a dumpster in the Roosevelt neighborhood.
In May 2021, the Whatcom Humane Society was again encouraging pet owners to keep cats inside after the partial remains of three cats were found in the span of one month in the Lettered Streets, Sunnyland and Roosevelt neighborhoods. Veterinary examinations conducted on the remains showed injuries consistent with human involvement, according to previous reporting by The Herald.
Animal cruelty should be reported to the Bellingham Police Department as well as the Whatcom Humane Society, according to Bellingham Police Lt. Claudia Murphy.
If someone’s cat is missing, they are encouraged to visit the humane society’s 2172 Division St. shelter to fill out a lost cat report.
