THE CLAWS ARE OUT

When my cat Pedro went missing, I appealed for information, but a phone call brought some unwelcome news…By Chloe Chick, 21

Launching my driving theory textbook across my room, I burst into tears.

‘This is so unfair,’ I said to my boyfriend Reece.

I’d recently started suffering seizures, and I wasn’t allowed to drive until at least a year of being completely clear of them.

And since doctors still couldn’t pinpoint why they were happening, my dream of driving seemed hopeless.

I’d been saving for ages for lessons.

‘Why don’t you buy something else with your money?’ Reece suggested. ‘Cheer yourself up.’

I agreed it was a good idea.

I’d always wanted a white cat, so I scoured the internet and came across a kitten called Pedro.

Seeing his adorable, fluffy face, I fell for him instantly.

I showed Reece his picture and he agreed he was adorable.

My family thought it was a good idea too.

‘He’ll keep you company,’ Mum said.

Since having the seizures, I struggled to leave the house, worried I’d have one in front of strangers.

I hoped having Pedro in the house would make staying in all the time less depressing.

I contacted the seller and a couple of weeks later, I brought Pedro home.

We bonded straightaway and he barely left my side.

He also knew if something was wrong with me, and would cry to get my mum’s attention.

Reece also loved him.

Pedro would cuddle in bed with us whenever Reece stayed over.

‘We’re best buds, aren’t we, Pedro?’ Reece said, as Pedro nuzzled his face into his.

When I went on holiday, Reece would look after him.

They formed a great bond and Pedro trusted him.

Only, my trust in Reece soon started to waiver.

He was still friends with his ex, Claire, which made me feel uncomfortable.

So when he told me they were going bowling together on their own, I wasn’t happy.

‘It’s pretty much a date,’ I said.

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Reece said, defensively. ‘We’re just good friends.’

‘It’s still weird,’ I said.

But he went along anyway.

They always seemed to be texting each other and I grew more suspicious every day.

But if I ever brought it up with Reece, he would tell me I was paranoid.

I started to question whether I wanted to be in a relationship with someone I didn’t trust.

Then a text message from Claire brought the relationship crashing down.

She had written: Reece and I are sleeping together and have been the whole time.

My heart sank.

Deep down, I’d already known, but it didn’t make it any easier.

When he came over later, I sat him down.

‘Is there anything you want to tell me?’ I asked him.

‘Like what?’ he said.

‘I’ve already spoken to Claire, so you might as well tell me,’ I said.

His face paled and then he let out a sigh.

‘We’ve been sleeping together,’ he admitted.

It was a stab in the heart hearing him say it.

‘I think you should leave,’ I said.

He nodded and muttered he was sorry under his breath, before getting up to leave.

I thought that would be the end of it, but a few weeks later, he started posting pictures of us on Facebook, saying how much he missed me.

He also posted a letter through my door telling me how sorry he was.

He then asked me to meet up to talk things over, which I agreed to, but only to draw a line under everything.

We met in our local pub, and I got straight to it.

‘I know you’re sorry,’ I said. ‘But I don’t want to be with you.’

But he refused to accept it.

‘I know I did wrong, but just give me another chance,’ he begged.

‘No,’ I said, firmly. ‘We’re not right for each other.’

But in the weeks that followed, he kept messaging me and messaged my friends too, begging them to tell me to speak to him.

It finally stopped when Reece got a new girlfriend.

I’d met a new partner too and I hoped we could both now move on with our lives.

In time, I fell pregnant, and I was overjoyed.

‘I hope Pedro doesn’t get jealous of the baby,’ I said to Mum.

‘They’ll be best friends,’ she assured me.

I kept my pregnancy under wraps until I was 18 weeks gone.

My family and I had gone on holiday to Egypt, and chilling by the pool one day, I posted my scan picture on Facebook.

Two days later, my dad received a call from my grandad saying he hadn’t seen Pedro for a couple of days, but I wasn’t worried.

Our house backed on to the Asda car park and Pedro was often brought back by the security guard, telling us he’d found him walking around inside the shop meowing at people.

‘He’ll be sleeping in Asda somewhere,’ I said to Dad.

I posted a status on Facebook asking people to keep an eye out for him, but nobody had seen him.

Then when we arrived back home a few days later, he still hadn’t come home.

Worry started to creep in, as it wasn’t like him to stay away that long.

We phoned around the vets and called in on the neighbours, but nobody had seen him.

I also made posters appealing for information and put them all around town.

When someone kept tearing them down, I started to get suspicious, and my mind turned to Reece.

He’d messaged my partner a few times after we announced the pregnancy, lying and saying I’d been sleeping around.

He was clearly bitter.

I worried he’d done something in revenge, but I had no evidence to prove it.

I hoped I was wrong, and Pedro would come home soon.

But weeks turned to months and Pedro never showed, leaving me heartbroken.

Every night, I’d sit and stare out of the window in tears.

In time, I gave birth to our son, Albie, which lifted my spirits again, but my happiness was short lived.

Just a few weeks after we brought Albie home, I received an unexpected phone call from Reece’s girlfriend, Jasmin.

I didn’t answer, so she texted and said: Can we talk? I know what happened to Pedro.

Seeing his name, my blood ran cold. I handed my phone to my sister Emily.

‘You speak to her,’ I said.

I didn’t want to hear it if it was bad. She took the phone and I braced myself for the worst.

As Emily spoke to her, I knew from her face Pedro was dead.

I raced into the bathroom and was sick into the toilet.

When I went back into the living room, Emily was no longer on the phone.

‘Tell me everything,’ I said.

She filled me in with the details, and I ran into the bathroom to be sick again.

Reece had taken Pedro from the Asda car park and then told Jasmin to drive him to the Quantock Hills, where he put Pedro inside a shopping bag and stamped him to death.

How could he be so evil?

It made me sick knowing I’d been with someone who could harm a defenceless animal in such a barbaric way.

We rang the police and the RSPCA and both came to take statements.

The RSPCA went to the spot where Pedro was killed to see if they could find his remains, but there was no trace of him.

Just before Reece was arrested and charged, he messaged me asking if he could pay me to drop the charges, but I wanted justice for Pedro.

At Taunton Crown Court, Reece Coney pleaded guilty to one charge of criminal damage.

He was spared jail and was instead handed a 12-month community order and told to do 60 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay me £600 compensation.

I was disappointed with how low the sentence was.

Pedro was family and Reece killed him in a cruel and violent manor.

Just after the court case, the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill received Royal Assent, meaning the maximum prison sentence for animal cruelty will be raised from six months to five years.

At least other families in the future will get better justice.

Either way, it will never bring Pedro back.

I try not to think about what happened to him and how scared he must have felt, as it’s unbearable.

I can never forgive Reece for what he did. Pedro trusted him and he let him down.