Saskatoon family wants justice after they say their cat was trapped and left in a rural field

A Saskatoon family searching for their cat, Mon, was shocked when he ended up in a rural field more than 30 kilometres from their home. It was the morning of Sept. 4 when Huy Nguyen and Jesse Dinh first realized Mon wasn’t around. “Normally we’re always trying to keep him inside, but we have two dogs and we have a small kid — he’s just three years old — so it’s hard and Mon, [he’s] like an escape expert,” Nguyen said.They checked their cat’s AirTag tracking device location and were relieved he wasn’t far away. The locator showed he was down the street at a different property in their Arbor Creek neighbourhood. City cats are not legally allowed to roam free, but Mon was keen on the outdoors. Nguyen said they went to their neighbour’s home and rang the doorbell, but there was no answer. “I call[ed] his name, but he didn’t show up, and I don’t want to bother my neighbour, so that’s why I came home, [hoping] he will come back.” But Mon didn’t come back. ​It’s not uncommon for city cats to disappear, but it’s not always clear how they vanished.In this case, Mon’s family did discover how Mon wound up dead so far from home — and who allegedly took him there.Tracker shows cat’s trip to countryside Around noon on Sept. 4, Nguyen noticed Mon’s location, according to the AirTag, hadn’t moved from their neighbour’s property. “I feel worried. Something’s not right. He cannot stay there for, you know really, four or five hours,” Nguyen  said. Then Mon was on the move. The AirTag updated the location to a highway east of the city and then at the intersection of Old Highway 16 and Range Road 3032 near Clavet, Sask.Nguyen and Dinh drove out to that area and searched for Mon, but they couldn’t find him and the tracking device didn’t update. The couple sought all the help and information they could get: offering a $1,000 reward, making posts on Facebook and door-knocking in their neighbourhood. Many friends and strangers helped them look, or offered advice. They didn’t find Mon until about one month after he disappeared. He was likely killed by wildlife. “He’s a cat — but he’s a family member, right? Every day I [am] feeding him, the kids love him. He’s got a name, he’s my family member and he was killed. I feel so, so bad,” Nguyen said. Confronting the neighbour who raises pigeonsWhen Mon’s tracker pinged outside of the city, Nguyen  wondered if Mon had crawled up into a car and was accidentally transported. But after speaking with his neighbours, he began to suspect that Mon’s one-way trip was orchestrated. During the search for Mon, Nguyen learned a cat named Tony from the Arbor Creek neighbourhood had also been stranded near Clavet just a few months prior.  Mon the cat receives a head scratch. His AirTag tracking device is visible in the photo. (Submitted by Jessie Dinh)People helped his family piece together surveillance footage and other information that led them to believe their neighbour, John Steel, played a role in Mon’s disappearance. Steel is an elderly man known for raising pigeons. Nguyen confronted him at his home. Steel was not made aware he was being recorded. “I’m living near here, and I believe you trapped my cat and you dumped him at Clavet. I got all the evidence. I got the footage that you driving my cat here and when you stop near Clavet, you dumped him,” Nguyen can be heard saying in the recording.  “That’s right. I did,” Steel responds. “Why you did that?” Nguyen asks. “Because it was in my yard. I’ve got racing pigeons, and it was in my yard, in my loft and it killed two birds,” Steel says.WATCH | Man who raises pigeons admits to trapping and relocating cat in secret recording: Man who raises pigeons admits to trapping and relocating cat in secret recordingHuy Nguyen confronts his neighbour, John Steel, in a secretly recorded conversation, and accuses him of trapping and relocating his family’s pet. The cat was found dead in a rural area east of Saskatoon, likely killed by wildlife.In a short interview with CBC News, Steel denied that he was responsible. Asked why the AirTag location placed Mon in his yard, he said “I don’t know. I’ve got pigeons here and about a month ago or more I went into my loft, opened the door and a cat ran out, a grey cat and it took off … killed one of my birds, so not very happy with cats here.” Trapping is legal; relocating is not Cats are beloved family members to some, but others view them as a nuisance or pest that disturbs their property. The animals are not legally allowed to roam off leash in the city and pet owners who don’t follow these rules can be fined. People are allowed to trap free-roaming cats on their property; however, there are consequences if they harm the animal in the process. People who rent traps from the city’s animal control agency must abide by its conditions, like ensuring the cat’s welfare and surrendering the cat to the agency or owner after it’s captured. People who use a private trap are subject to the provincial Animal Protection Act, which states no person shall cause an animal to be in distress. An animal is considered in distress if it is deprived of food or water, care or shelter or abandoned by the person responsible for them in a manner likely to cause distress. Animal Protection Services of Saskatchewan declined to do an interview with CBC for this story, citing confidentiality, but it has previously offered clarity about cat-trapping on social media in response to concerns . “The moment the cat is trapped, the person who set the trap has the legal responsibility to ensure the health and welfare of that animal. If the cat becomes distressed, the property owner can be charged under The Animal Protection Act, 2018,” the post explained. “Abandoning animals is an offence under the Criminal Code of Canada, and killing other people’s cats is prohibited under the Criminal Code.” Tony the cat also taken to Clavet areaNguyen wonders if other cats in the area have been taken like Mon was. The cat wasn’t the first to disappear from the area. In June, Jillian Moore’s cat Tony went missing. He spends a lot of time outdoors in the area. “I wish I could keep him inside. He’s very vocal. He would scream until the door broke down,” Moore said. “I also know it’s [against] a bylaw. I have paid a fine before. I understand, and that’s on me.”In June, Jillian Moore’s cat Tony went missing from the Arbor Creek neighbourhood. (Jillian Moore/Facebook)Tony was wearing an AirTag, just like Mon, when he disappeared. When Tony went missing, it marked his location as near Clavet and Range Road 3031. Moore made a Facebook post on June 17 to offer a reward, saying “he lives in Arbor Creek so either someone took him or he accidentally hitched a ride.” She said she was fortunate because she was able to find Tony and bring him home. In September, she began to worry that what happened to Tony wasn’t an isolated incident. Nguyen and Dinh knocked on her door and explained what happened to Mon. “That’s when it really resonated with me — that oh, dear. This could be the same person who’s doing this,” Moore said. She spoke to Steel after Nguyen’s confrontation to let him know that Mon had died, and she also asked about what happened to Tony, she said. “I just explained that he could have conversations with his neighbours. He didn’t have to take it upon himself,” she said. “He denied that he had done it to our cat. So I said, ‘So, you’re, you deny trapping our cat and taking him basically to the exact same spot that you took the neighbour’s cat to, that you admitted to taking there?’ And he’s like, ‘Yep.’ Okay — strange coincidence.”Nguyen and Dinh said they never considered someone might capture their cat and take him to the wilderness. Now they’re warning others to be careful. Animal protection agency investigating Dinh filed a complaint with Animal Protection Services of Saskatchewan and submitted their evidence and the timeline of events. She wrote “my family is heartbroken … this is a crime that must be stopped, and I urge you to take action as soon as possible.”In an emailed response on Oct. 14, an animal protection officer did not name Steel but wrote to Dinh that “the individual has been educated and informed on the proper disposition of animals if they are at large and trapped on personal property. This procedure would entail contacting Animal Control for collection and placement of the stray animal.”At this time the investigation is still ongoing with charges to be contingent on the Crown prosecutor and if it is in the best interest of the public.” Mon’s family has created a memorial for him in their backyard, where he is buried. (Submitted by Jessie Dinh)They also wrote “… you are encouraged to take all possible measures to ensure your pets remain indoors or under supervision, both for their protection and to prevent future incidents involving other animals or people.”In an email to CBC, the agency said potential charges are generally filed under the Animal Protection Act because proving intent under the Criminal Code can be challenging.  “Penalties could be a fine, restitution (if there are costs incurred), prohibition, probation or jail time or any combination. This is variable depending on prior criminal history, any remorse or accountability by the alleged perpetrator and a multitude of factors brought forwards by both the Crown and Defence.” Last week, Dinh asked for an update on the investigation. The family has not yet received a response. They don’t plan on being quiet while they wait. “The thing is, it’s happened and Mon was dead and I brought him home already. Now he will be safe, right? But I don’t want to let it go,” Nguyen said. “I want everybody [to] know about it. I don’t want it [to] happen to other people.”