The Minnesota Cursers are gone. They lived next door for years. They had three or four dogs chained to trees, with broken plastic boxes for shelter. The dogs would sit in the dirt, in the rain, in the snow. And barked, pretty much constantly. Wouldn’t you?

We called them the Cursers because that’s all they did. I don’t think any of the adults had jobs, and they shouted curses at the top of their lungs all day long. At each other, at their children, at the animals. It was horrific. One could not work in the yard without hearing G-D MF’ing C’s screamed at the top of their lungs.

Well, they are gone. And they abandoned the little girl’s cat. No food, no water, no shelter, except for a half-melted cardboard box. Oh, and the kittens. They’re in the box, too.

This is a beautiful, tiny, part-siamese cat, with blue eyes and a stripy tail. She was affectionate to the little girl. She’s scared now, and won’t let you near. Her babies look well-fed; they are balls of fluff. I brought her food and water this morning, now that I know she is there, alone, unfed, and frightened, trying to keep her kittens alive.

What kind of person does this? The same kind of person who leaves dogs chained to trees and deprives them of water in the dead of winter when their bucket gets turned over, calling them “stupid MF’s”. The same kind of person who screams at little children, cursing and calling them evil names. I’m not sorry they are gone, but what is to become of that brave little cat and her kittens?

And what is to become of the children, trapped with adults who think nothing of cursing them, calling them stupid, and much, much worse?

— Kathleen Tronsor

Salisbury