Rescue group puts up money for cat

$4,500 for tip on Mattie's abuser

Friday, Oct. 17, 2008

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by NANCY BROMLEY McCONATY Debbie Mader, a volunteer with the Humane Society of Charles County in Waldorf, cuddles Mattie, a 6-month-old cat that suffered severe burns over his body after someone in Prince George's County doused him with a flammable liquid and set him on fire at an apartment complex in District Heights. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

Volunteers at a local animal rescue group are offering a reward to anyone who can help Prince George's County authorities find the person who set a 6-month-old cat on fire at an apartment complex in District Heights.

Mattie was doused Oct. 5 with a flammable liquid, set on fire and left underneath a stairwell at the Penn Landing apartment complex. Prince George's animal shelter authorities found the cat and sent him to the Beltway Emergency Animal Hospital in Glenn Dale for treatment.

Officials of the animal shelter called Joan Marshall, president of Big Dawg Rescue, after Mattie returned to the shelter. The Faulkner resident said that she immediately grabbed a cat carrier and headed to the shelter to retrieve the cat.

Marshall said that she took Mattie to the Humane Society of Charles County because she knew that he would receive excellent care at the Waldorf facility.

The tip of Mattie's ears, his back end and the pads of his paws were scorched during the incident, said Thomas Smith, the humane society's veterinarian who owns along with his wife, Laura, All Cats and Dogs Veterinarian Services in Bryans Road.

Right now, Mattie is doing as well as can be expected, but his recovery will be a long one that will require surgery, Smith said.

Once Mattie heals, he will be put up for adoption by the Best Dawg Rescue group, Marshall said, adding that a photograph of Mattie is already up on the organization's Web site at www.dawg-rescue.org where updates will be provided regularly about his condition.

Mattie was doing all right Wednesday, Marshall said.

"He's hanging in there," she said. "It's just going to be a slow process. The doctor is trying to get him built up by feeding him foods with lots of protein."

Best Dawg is seeking monetary donations to help pay for Mattie's care, Marshall said, adding that he is the organization's responsibility since the group picked him up from the shelter.

Marshall said that her organization is offering up to a $4,500 reward to anyone who can provide information that could lead to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person responsible for harming Mattie.

"It was a horrible crime," she said. "We really want to find these people. Money talks, and we hope somebody responds."

Marshall said that Prince George's County animal authorities are placing posters about the reward around the apartment complex where Mattie was set on fire.

"I beg people to come forward if they have any information about this for the sake of other animals," she said. "We want Mattie to be the last victim. Let's stop this right here. There could be more to follow if we don't catch these people."

Reward offered

Best Dawg Rescue Inc., a nonprofit animal rescue organization, is seeking the public's help in obtaining information about an animal abuse case that occurred Oct. 5 at the Penn Landing apartment complex in District Heights.

Mattie, a 6-month-old cat, was doused with a flammable liquid and set on fire, causing severe burns over much of his body.

Best Dawg Rescue is offering up to $4,500 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person responsible for harming Mattie. Call the Prince George's County Department of Animal Services and Animal Management at 301-499-8301. All calls will be confidential.

Donations to help the organization pay for Mattie's treatment can be mailed to Best Dawg Rescue Inc., P.O. Box 34213, Bethesda, MD 20827 or through networkforgood.org for credit card donations.

nmcconaty@somdnews.com