Illinois Court Time Wasted By Bank Official To Obtain Order To Save Elderly Cat From Being Euthanized – Owner’s Will Specified That It Be Put Down

ILLINOIS – You’ve heard curiosity killed the cat. In this case, curiosity actually saved one.

As CBS 2′s Jim Williams reports, Boots was about to be put down, but an alert bank official worked to block the execution, going against the wishes of Boots’ late owner.

Boots is a friendly cat and doesn’t at all mind being held by a stranger.

“She’s lovable, playful. Though she’s 11 years old, she doesn’t act like it,” said Sandra Buturusis, the cat’s neighbor in the western suburbs.

It’s hard to believe someone wanted this perfectly healthy cat euthanized. Even harder to believe it was Boots’ owner, Georgia Lee Dvorak.

“She had a really big heart,” Buturusis. “She loved animals.”

When Georgia Lee Dvorak of Berwyn died, she left behind her 11-year-old cat, “Boots.”

In fact, Dvorak so loved animals, that when she died last December she left all of her $1.3 million estate to animal charities. So why put in her will that she wanted her beloved Boots euthanized, especially after she rescued the cat from an abusive home?

“She was so afraid that if something happened to her that the cat would not be taken care of and she’d go to another abusive home,” Buturusis said.

The executor of the will, Fifth Third Bank, went to court, to ask a judge to actually block Ms. Dvorak’s request.

“We brought a petition asking that the language be set aside or stricken,” said bank senior president Jeffrey Schmidt. “We didn’t want to euthanize this healthy, living animal.”

The judge agreed, and Wednesday, Fifth Third arranged for Boots to be taken to a loving home with a history of caring for cats.

“I guess you could say this time curiosity saved the cat,” said Schmidt. “We’re very happy for that.”

Bank officials also donated cat supplies and food to Boots’ new home, a cage-free sanctuary in Andersonville.

Schmidt recommends pet owners set up a separate trust for their care.

Dvorak had no family members and her neighbors are allergic to cats.

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Pyscho New York City Health Department Officials Ban Harmless Cat From Hotel Lobby – 10th In A Series That Have Maintained Residence There For 80 Years

The city Department of Health & Mental Hygiene has sunk its claws into another beloved New York institution — The Algonquin hotel’s lobby cat.

Matilda III — the latest in an illustrious line of free-roaming Algonquin felines — has been banished from the lobby lounge, leaving guests fruitlessly searching for her under chairs and sofas.

Prodded by Nanny Bloomberg, the DOH has been socking restaurants with steep fines for minor violations — and slapping dreaded “C” ratings on places where no one was known to get sick.

Some places are taking no chances, eliminating popular features before the DOH can strike them down. The party-pooping agency recently nudged Sardi’s to eliminate cheese snacks at its bar.

Now, thanks to a DOH “reminder,” poor Matilda is on a leash behind The Algonquin’s check-in desk, or out of sight on a higher floor.

The city’s favorite feline, a blue-eyed ragdoll, took up residence last winter. She’s the 10th Algonquin cat since Rusty, a k a Hamlet I, moved into the hotel, legendary home of the “Round Table” literary salon, in 1932.

The pampered pussies are as much a part of The Algonquin’s cozy confines as the oak paneling and upholstered chairs and sofas. Hotel staff have delighted in pointing out Matilda’s hiding places to guests.

Like her predecessors, she had the run of the house, but the lobby, home to the Round Table restaurant and lounge, was called her “natural habitat.”

Hotel staff tried blaming Matilda’s going missing on guests who were abusing her — a claim that gave paws, since it was not a problem for 80 years.

Algonquin General Manager Gary Budge first said the lockup was for Matilda’s own good.

“People seem more aggressive toward her, and she’s responding in a way that’s not helpful,” he claimed. But then he acknowledged, “The [Health] department in the past months suggested to us that pets in food-service facilities are no longer commingled.

“The lobby is an area where we serve food and beverage. We always want to be respectful of the Department of Health.”

A DOH spokeswoman said, “According to the New York City Health Code, live animals are not allowed in food-service establishments unless a patron needs a service dog.”

She said Algonquin managers told an inspector they had an “electronic fence to contain the cat,” and the inspector “reminded them that the cat is not allowed in food-service or preparation areas.”

At a preliminary inspection on Nov. 10, The Algonquin received 20 violation points, worth a B grade if they aren’t corrected on a follow-up DOH visit.

None of the violations involved Matilda.

The hotel will close Jan. 1 for a four-month, $15 million renovation.

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Can Of Cat Pedialyte Closes Xenia Ohio Intersection For Hours As Dayton Bomb Squad Investigates

XENIA, OHIO – The Dayton Bomb Squad was called to downtown Xenia early Monday morning after a suspicious package was found outside a bank.

A witness told police he saw someone leaving a container with foil and rubber bands on it outside the Huntington Bank on North Detroit Street.

The bomb squad was called out to investigate and the intersection was shutdown for several hours overnight Monday.

The contents were later determined to be pedialyte for cats, a substance to help keep cats hydrated.

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