SPRINGFIELD – Flint, a small white kitten with one blue eye and one brown eye, needed a good home. Instead, around noon Thursday, two women apparently snatched the cat from Dakin Humane Society’s Springfield Adoption Center.
Today, police and Humane Society officials are looking for the apparent cat-nappers and fretting about Flint’s welfare.
“We just want to make sure he is being cared for properly,” said Carmine DiCenso, executive director of the nonprofit organization. “Because of the incident, we don’t know that is happening.”
DiCenso said Friday that two women entered the Union Street building through its main entrance, went into the cat adoption room and picked up Flint. One of the women then placed Flint under her shirt and ran with her companion from the building.
Flint was awaiting adoption for a fee of $350, DiCenso said, though his value was closer to $500 to $600, because Dakin neutered the kitten and had the pet fully vaccinated.
Though Dakin depends on adoption fees to operate its shelters, which are in Springfield and on Montague Road in Leverett, the pressing concern for staff is whether Flint has been harmed in the nearly 24 hours he’s been missing.
DiCenso said until the women are identified by Springfield Police – surveillance video and photographs have been provided by Dakin – their motives are unknown. “We don’t know whether it was a person who just made a really bad decision,” DiCenso said.
Springfield Police are continuing to investigate the matter, DiCenso said. Police officials could not be reached for comment Friday morning.
Though only in the position since Aug. 1, DiCenso has two decades of experience in animal welfare program management, and knows animal thefts can occur.
“Sadly, it’s an occurrence that does happen from time to time around the country,” DiCenso said.
But he said dogs and puppies are stolen more often than cats and kittens. But, DiCenso stressed, thievery is far from typical for the typical Dakin visitor.
“We are so grateful to everyone who helps animals by adopting, volunteering and supporting Dakin,” DiCenso said. “The majority of people entering Dakin are kind, caring and compassionate people.”
Flint was one of about 40 cats awaiting adoption in Springfield, along with dogs, rabbits, hamsters and even parakeets. More animals are available in Leverett.
The organization shelters, treats and fosters more than 20,000 animals each year and has performed more than 69,000 spay and neuter surgeries since 2009.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
