Justice to the Max

If every march for social justice has its landmarks, the case of Max the cat is surely a milestone for animal rights. Thanks to a tireless prosecutor, an aggressive judge, and some help from the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Max is not only safe, but his ordeal has led to a pioneering court ruling that may set a precedent for future cases involving companion animals.

Last January, Dustin Teahon of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, assaulted his girlfriend and kicked her cat Max down a flight of stairs. Max sustained possible neurological trauma, and the girlfriend ended her relationship with Teahon. The woman even obtained a protection order barring Teahon from contacting her and revealed that he had also abused another of her animals, a 10-week-old kitten named Diddy, who died a day after Teahon struck him in the head. As in many domestic-violence cases, the couple later reconciled. But this time authorities recognized that allowing Max to remain with his guardian would place him in danger—so the court placed him in a local shelter, not even permitting the woman’s parents to adopt him.

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