OWINGS MILLS, Md. — We have an update to a story we brought you about animal cruelty case back in May.
A cat hiding under a car attacked with rocks by a neighbor that lives a few doors down.
The Baltimore County Police Department tells WMAR on Monday they arrested 37-year-old Joseph Olunwa on animal cruelty charges in connection to this case.
It's brought a great deal of interest online.
They received 15,000 emails in reference to this investigation.
While the cat is healing, the owners want justice.
RELATED: Animal cruelty caught on camera has a family fearing for their cat's life
It's been a long road to recovery for Greyson. A one-year-old furry companion to a family that lives in Owings Mills.
Sitting in his favorite spot looking out the window. It's something Linda Smithery, whose daughter owns the cat, didn't think was going to happen again after an incident back in May.
"He's not going to be the way he was before. He has permanent damage,” said Smithery.
A neighbor's Ring video showed someone who lives a few houses down walk in front of Linda’s home and throw rocks under a parked car.
"After he threw the rocks, Greyson was sitting right there on that little curb. Blood was just pouring out of both of his eyes. He couldn't move,” said Linda.
Greyson had a broken jaw, both eye sockets busted, and needed a feeding tube. Almost two months later, his jaw is still not straight and he's blind in his left eye. He can eat again on his own, one step in this day-by-day recovery.
The next step is surgery.
"The dental surgeon told us that they have to remove all his teeth so that he could close his mouth and I was concerned about how he would be able to eat after that and the surgeon told us that cats do not need teeth to eat," said Linda.
Linda said they've never spoken to these neighbors.
The nonprofit 'In Defense of Animals' got word of what happened. They are an international animal advocacy that started a petition saying the charges filed aren't strong enough. So far, they have over 10,000 supporters.
"They were very upset because they had sent information, written information, to the police department, contacted the police department and felt like they weren't getting any answers,” said Doll Stanley after speaking with Linda. She is the Justice for Animals Senior Campaigner.
As for now, Linda and her daughter are trying to raise funds through a go fund me to pay for Greyson’s surgery. If you would like to donate, click here.
