U.K. woman sorry for dumping cat in bin
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 25, 2010 | 8:15 PM ET
CBC News
A British woman who was caught on a surveillance camera dumping a cat into a garbage bin apologized Wednesday for her actions, a day after she told a British tabloid she couldn't understand all the fuss.
Mary Bale, 45, said in a statement that she was "profoundly sorry" for tossing four-year-old Lola into a trash bin and closing the lid.
"I cannot explain why I did this, it is completely out of character and I certainly did not intend to cause any distress to Lola or her owners," said Bale, who is from Coventry in central England.
"It was a split second of misjudgment that has got completely out of control."
The surveillance video shows Bale petting Lola as the cat walks along a garden wall. Bale appears to glance around, before lifting the lid of the bin. She then takes Lola by the scruff of the neck, dumps the cat in the bin, closes the lid and walks away.
Video goes viral
Lola's owners, Stephanie and Darryl Andrews-Mann, realized late last Saturday that the cat was missing. They found the animal when they heard its cries from inside the bin. Lola had been trapped in the bin for 15 hours but was unharmed.
The couple had installed a personal surveillance camera outside their home after a number of thefts in the area. They posted the video of Bale on YouTube in hopes of identifying the person who dumped their cat in the bin.
The video drew tens of thousands of views, sparking outrage and angry messages, including death threats, which prompted police to post guards outside Bale's home.
While Bale was apologetic about Wednesday, she had earlier told The Sun she couldn’t understand why everyone was so upset.
"I really don't see what everyone is getting so excited about — it's just a cat," she told the paper. "I was walking home from work and saw this cat wandered out in front of me. I was playing with it, stroking it and listening to it purr as it stood on a garden wall. It was very friendly.
"I did it as a joke because I thought it would be funny. I never thought it would be trapped. I expected it to wriggle out of the bin."
Bale said she will co-operate with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals as it investigates the incident.
With files from The Associated PressShare Tools
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