Community Corner

Rescue Group Offers Reward for Cat Stolen From Petco Adoption Center

Georgia, a black cat up for adoption at Petco in Lake Forest was snatched from her enclosure Tuesday. Volunteers are asking for help with her safe return.

Volunteers at a local pet rescue are offering a reward for the return of little black cat that was stolen from the adoption center at a Lake Forest Petco.

Georgia, an attention-loving princess whose litter of kittens had already found homes, was up for adoption when someone broke into her cage and snatched her Tuesday at the Petco at 24332 Rockfield Boulevard in Lake Forest.

The Dream Animal Rescue had partnered with Petco to find Georgia a suitable home.

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“We just want Georgia back. I am heartsick. I have cried every night,” said Jonnie Ben, the rescue group’s founder. “We love these animals, and this just breaks our hearts. We are hoping someone in the area will know something.”

Georgia and her six kittens were rescued in May of 2012 from the Los Angeles County Shelter in Downey. According to Dream Animal Rescue, they all had respiratory infections, and her kittens had very serious eye infections requiring nearly $1,000 in veterinary fees.

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One kitten died, but five survived and were adopted. Because black cats are less popular, it had been a challenge finding the right home for Georgia.

“She loves people. She’s a big attention hog, and she just wants to be in your lap,” said Ben. “But she’s not super great with other animals because she has to be the queen.”

Dream Animal Rescue partnered with Petco’s Think Adoption First effort to help curb the number of unwanted pets euthanized every year. Petco provided a stationary adoption habitat for Georgia until Tuesday when someone broke the lock on her habitat and nabbed her sometime between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., said Ben. The freestanding unit has four compartments for the cats, with melamine and Plexiglas cage doors that lock individually with file-cabinet type locks. As a safety precaution, Dream removed the remaining three cats from the Petco habitat the next morning.

The rescue’s volunteers have been attempting to contact local vets, shelters, and other pet stores to keep an eye out for Georgia.

Dream Animal Rescue is also gathering donations for a reward for information leading to Georgia’s safe return or the identity of the people who took her. The Petco store manager has personally donated $50.00 towards this fund, said Ben. Anyone wishing to donate to the reward fund or rescue expenses can do so via Paypal using the dreamanimalrescue@gmail.com address. Anyone with information about Georgia can email dreamanimalrescue@gmail.com.


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