On Friday, a man entered the PetSmart in Minneapolis and asked an employee to look at the cats. Shortly after the employee showed the man the area, another employee saw the man holding an adult cat outside of its designated area. The employee, surprised to see the cat there, took the cat away from the man and returned that cat to its cage, only to notice that the locks were broken open with a bolt cutter.
On a Facebook Post, written by Julie Sandberg Lessard of Ruff Start Rescue (An animal rescue shelter that partners with PetSmart to allow cats more exposure), she wrote:
“This is when she noticed another cage lock was cut and our 3 month old kitten, Wednesday was missing!!!” the Facebook post says.
Police were notified, and this surveillance still of the man began circulating on Facebook:
Lynn posted this security camera image on social media and what happened next surprised everyone.
Saturday, the following day, Lynn shared this update:
“The power of social media has once again won the battle!
Wednesday has been found!!!”
“It spread like wildfire,” Lynn said.
“I really think our social media pressure forced him to do the right thing.” Lessard writes, “The cat napper left this note when he dropped off Wednesday”: ‘It was going to be a valentine’s day present and I had no money. I’m sorry.’
Although the Valentine Cat Napper caught on surveillance has not yet been identified, it is likely that the pressures of being called out by thousands on social media had some influence on Wednesday’s safe return.
Since the advent of social media and technology, it becoming glaringly obvious how effective social media is at keeping people honest – or at the very least – taking responsibility for their actions.
