Eva Mulder, 38, was visiting Rodney Blanchard, 49, on Sunday evening at his place, 7570 46th Ave. N, lot 175. At one point, Pinellas deputies said, he asked her to grab him a beer from the freezer.
Mulder found the kittens instead.
"She tried to take them out of the freezer," Barreda said. "He wouldn't let her."
In fact, Rodney Blanchard kicked her out. Deputies soon arrived.
When the deputies arrived, they heard meowing as they approached the freezer. When they opened the freezer door, they found the four kittens, about six weeks old, inside individual sandwich bags on the bottom shelf.
One kitten, a calico and white female, was unresponsive. The three others, orange and white males, were alive and meowing.
They gathered the shivering, flea-ridden kittens and wrapped them in a blanket.
Deputies took the kittens, cold to the touch and covered with fleas, to the Emergency Care Center At Tampa Bay Veterinary Specialist in Largo for further care.
The SPCA took custody of the kittens, as well as an unharmed adult cat found in the home.
Rodney Blanchard was arrested on charges of animal cruelty and misdemeanor battery. He told deputies "he didn't know what he was thinking," Barreda said. "Then he said some statements to the effect of putting the cats in timeout."
Blanchard was arrested, charged with four counts of animal cruelty and one count of battery.
(abcactionnews.com - Dec 4, 2012)
