Cat shot, blinded

What makes it worse is knowing a neighbor's child is responsible. A month ago, a sixth-grade neighbor told Tarling's son he'd shoot the cat if he "found it on his roof again." The cat often roams from its home on Juniper Street to Isabelle Avenue, where the boy allegedly lives, said Tarling.

Tarling has no doubt in his mind that the young neighbor shot the cat. Besides payment for the cat's medical bills, Tarling said he wants to make sure the neighborhood is safe from a kid who knows how to use a gun.

"This was someone shooting to kill a domestic animal in the neighborhood. All fingers point to one person in the neighborhood," said Tarling. "There is a likelihood of this incident growing into something much bigger."

Gilligan was taken to an all-night emergency veterinary clinic where X-rays showed a mushroom-shaped pellet that entered the right side of his nose bridge and lodged itself behind his left eye. Tarling was told the cat would have certainly died if he were shot at close range. However, this shooting appeared to happen from a 50-foot distance and from a gun equipped with an aiming mechanism, Tarling said the police told him.

The night Gilligan was hit, Tarling's son mentioned the conversation to his father. Since then, the boy denies shooting the cat.

Gilligan will never regain vision in his right eye, which is severely blood shot from the incident. He is "wobbling" around the backyard while he gets used to his partial vision, said Tarling.

Police were called out to the scene, but were not able to take a report for lack of evidence pointing toward a culprit, said Lt. Barbara Hammerman, who said animal shootings are rare.

"We have these every now and then and they're more common with cats than dogs," said Hammerman.

Deliberate shootings of animals throughout San Mateo County only find their way to court every few years, said Peninsula Humane Society spokesman Scott Delucchi.

"We get maybe one or two where there is reason to believe that someone went out of the way," said Delucchi. "It could be a felony if either the person admits to it or there is enough evidence - which is always really difficult to get."

The Humane Society often offers reward money for cases like Tarling's and said it may offer a reward in this case when it receives more information. For the time being, Tarling is offering his own reward for any information about the shooting.

Tarling isn't looking to press charges against the culprit, but wants him to pay for the thousands of dollars of medical bills. He is also concerned for the safety of hundreds of students at Beresford Elementary School - located just a block away.

The combination of students and a young gunner could prove fatal in light of previous school shootings like Columbine, said Tarling.

"If this kid is in sixth or seventh grade. What the heck is he thinking," said Tarling. "How could you shoot a thing like that."

Anyone with information about the shooting should call Tarling at 207-6164.

Dana Yates can be reached by e-mail: dana@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.