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File photo of a sleeping cat. goodmami via Creative Commons
US Army
US army offers $7,300 in compensation after 'shelling' family pet
The New Jersey family’s cat had to be put down after being struck by wayward shell shrapnel that came through their roof.
THE US ARMY has offered a northern New Jersey family over $7,300 to compensate for damages from wayward artillery shell shrapnel that crashed through their roof in 2008, causing the death of their cat.
The 2-pound fragment traveled more than a mile from Picatinny Arsenal and punched a hole in the roof of Frederick Angle’s Jefferson Township home.
The hot piece of metal landed on the bed of Angle’s then-10-year-old stepdaughter, who wasn’t home. But the family’s cat was on the bed and had to be euthanised.
Angle tells The Daily Record of Parsippany the offer is a “kick in the teeth” and he plans to reject it.
Picatinny spokesman Tim Rider says major steps were taken after the 2008 incident to ensure it could not happen again.
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