SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y. — Humane investigators have charged a Long Island man with animal cruelty after he allegedly assaulted a man and threw a cat into the water.
In a news release, the Suffolk County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said that Christopher Garufi assaulted the cat’s owner outside of The Schooner Inn in Ocean Bay Park.
The cat’s owner was carrying the animal in a cat carrier backpack, which investigators said Garufi grabbed and threw into the Great South Bay. Because the cat was inside the bag, it was submerged and unable to get to safety.
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In the news release, the Suffolk County SPCA said a bystander immediately rescued the animal from the water.
Garufi is scheduled to appear in court in September.
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