Staff at a Woodstock Tim Hortons delayed drive-thru so police could rescue kittens

NEW YORK -- It was a case of animal cruelty that halted the Norwich Avenue Tim Hortons drive-thru line Monday morning.

When one customer noticed a burlap sack in the back of a pickup truck moving and meowing, the staff was quickly informed.

“It was the car behind him,” said store owner Leslie Farrell, “and the customer came into the store to notify me that there were kittens in a bag.”

That’s when Farrell said she called police and decided to hold up the drive-thru line because staff members weren’t sure how long it would take for police to get there.

“We held up drive-thru so that the police could get him,” she said. “We don’t always hold up our drive-thru on purpose, but this time we did.”

This story had a happy ending though, as the kittens were rescued from the bag following police’s arrival on the scene.

“They got put into the police cruiser, and we went and got them some nice cream,” Farrell said. “The one cat was so scared and timid, she or he was hiding in the cruiser and it took us quite a while to get him out of the cruiser.”

Farrell has also offered to cover many of the kittens’ veterinary costs, which will include getting them vaccinated, spayed and neutered.

“I was mortified that it happened at my drive-thru,” she said, “so I feel that’s the least I can do.”
At her own home, Farrell has four cats that are all rescue animals.

“Anyone that knows me knows that I have a very weak spot for kittens and cats,” Farrell said. “But it would be any animal, whether it was a cat, dog or a rabbit, I would never want to see an animal get hurt.

“It broke my heart,” she added. “I got emotional when I realized these kittens were in a bag … I’m an animal lover, and I would never want to see an animal get hurt no matter how.”

Once the kittens are released from the veterinarian, they will go to Hillside Kennels and be put up for adoption. Farrell said one of her staff members already expressed interest in adopting one of the kittens.

The 51-year-old Norwich man who was driving the pickup truck, who Farrell added is known to the store’s employees, was arrested on the spot and charged with causing animals to suffer.

(Woodstock Sentinel Review - Sept 2, 2015)