Heartbreaking image of grieving girl as she farewells beloved cat
It's an image that would melt even the coldest of hearts.
A ten-year-old girl weeps uncontrollably as she bades a final farewell to her beloved cat, Babies.
Mum Julie Neeson posted the heartbreaking picture of her grief-stricken daughter Kiana on Facebook after she learned Babies had been put down by a vet without the family's consent.
Mrs Neeson said the 15-year-old moggy disappeared from their home in Newtownabbey in Northern Ireland on Sunday night.
"Our neighbours knew Babies and they spoiled him as much as we did," She told Belfast Live. "Sometimes they allowed him to sleep in their house and he would come back to us in the morning.
"We called for him until 2am on Monday and then thinking he had been taken in a for a cuddle, we went to bed fully expecting to see him the next day."
But the following evening Babies was dead, killed by lethal injection after a vet mistook him for a stray.
"When I got there (pet supermarket) they handed my cat to me and he was frozen. He had been kept in the freezer overnight.
"He was frozen stiff and waiting to be disposed of. I couldn't believe it.
"I demanded to see the vet and asked him what he had killed my cat for. The collar Babies had worn was gone before he got to the shop and he was treated as a stray.
"I'm devastated, my daughters are devastated and our neighbours who loved Babies felt so sorry for what had happened they gathered together and helped me pay 100 for a cremation for him today," she said.
"I was able to bring Babies home and had to explain to my 10-year-old daughter what had happened. She's just heartbroken. We all are."
The vet later posted a message on Facebook apologising for the mix up, but said the cat was not wearing a collar or identification tag when he was brought in.
In the post, the vet also claimed Babies was suffering from a number of health issues and that putting him down was 'the kindest option'.
"I'd like to express my sympathies to the cat's family at this difficult time, and I am sorry that this decision was made without them being present," the statement said.
"This poor cat was suffering from chronic renal failure and had been for some time.
"The cat was presented to us as a stray by a member of the public who felt sorry for him and took it upon herself to bring him to the vets.
"She firstly asked us to check for a microchip. None were detected and he didn't have any other means of identification. She then asked for him to be examined by a vet.
"I have 12 years of experience as a vet and was able to diagnose and recognise the severity of the cat's condition as a result of a thorough, clinical examination.
"The cat was very thin and had lost an awful lot of weight. He was very dehydrated, had very smelly uraemic breath and no tartar or oral disease to be anything else.
"I examined his abdomen and his left kidney was grossly enlarged. I could also feel a knobbly irregular indented surface which indicates renal infraction and major internal damage in the kidney.
"We discussed blood tests, but I subsequently advised that the poor cat was too far gone and that putting him to sleep was the kindest option. He was given an injection and drifted slowly off to sleep while being stroked by the young lady and the vet.
"Let me assure you that I would only ever take these actions as a last resort.
"I am a great animal lover and have four rescue cats at home, three of whom were nursed back to health following sever road traffic accidents and kept by me when no one claimed them."
News break – March 5
