Rescuer of Pedro tied to fraud complaint
Crowdfunding raised $9,500 for cat tossed from vehicle
A month ago, Mandi Howard was looking forward to adopting a bloodied kitten she had rescued from Hwy. 427. Now, after raising more than $9,500 for Pedro on Indiegogo, she has become a person of interest in a Toronto police fraud investigation.
An emotional Howard told the Star Thursday that her crowdfunding campaign wasn’t meant to defraud anybody.
“It was meant to help my baby come home,” she said.
In early December, Howard said she found the little ball of fur along the shoulder of Hwy. 427 after it was thrown out of a moving vehicle. The kitten appeared to be about 11 to 12 weeks old.
Howard scooped him off the highway and drove him to the Toronto Humane Society’s River St. facility, where veterinarians treated him for scrapes, a split lip and numerous broken bones. Pedro is now living with a foster family and receiving regular medical attention from the Humane Society. He will be available for adoption once he is healed, a Humane Society spokesperson said.
Since early December, Howard says she has been looking forward to the day when she can finally bring the kitten home.
But on Thursday, Howard got a phone call from the Toronto police informing her that she was a person of interest in an investigation on a fraud complaint brought forth by the Toronto Humane Society regarding about $10,000.
Toronto police have not confirmed that there is an investigation; however, the Toronto Humane Society also told the Star that there is an open investigation involving Howard.
The last time Howard said she heard from the Toronto Humane Society was three or four days before Christmas, when she called for an update on Pedro’s condition. The Humane Society asked if she was planning on making a donation, and Howard said yes.
Over the phone on Thursday morning, Howard told the Star she hasn’t been able to reach anyone at the Humane Society since December to find out more about Pedro, or Potter, as she recently renamed him.
She said she believes that her crowdfunding is at the root of the society’s objection.
On Dec. 6, Howard’s friend set up an Indiegogo campaign to finance the kitten’s medical bills. Howard posted on Facebook that “the funds will be going towards his ongoing care as I may be taking him home this weekend and he will need daily visits to the vet for dressing changes etc.”
She also wrote that “The money will be used for ongoing care for him and what is not used in medical bills will be given to (the Toronto Humane Society) as a token of love and appreciation our boy is pushing thru!!! I’m so in love with his spirit!!”
The Indiegogo campaign’s goal was $2,000, but it ended up raising $9,595 by the time the campaign ended on Monday. More than 300 people contributed.
The campaign was set up in the friend’s name, using her friend’s bank account. Howard said she always planned on donating money to the Humane Society, but she was waiting for the organization to contact her. Howard’s friend has not been contacted by police. Because the campaign ended so recently, she has also not received the full amount of donations.
Howard, a nurse in the Humber River Hospital’s emergency department, is also an animal activist who runs an independent cat rescue with her mother in Oshawa. They are working to become a non-profit.
“Ms. Howard rescued Pedro the kitten from the side of the highway after he was disturbingly thrown from a moving vehicle,” animal rights and criminal defence lawyer Camille Labchuk, who represents Howard, told the Star on Thursday.
“What’s most important is that Pedro continues to recover. The funds raised are for veterinary and rehabilitative care for Pedro.”
Toronto Humane Society spokesperson Makyla Deleo confirmed that they have yet to receive any funds from crowdsourcing campaigns made on Pedro’s behalf.
“Our veterinarians are happy with (Pedro’s) progress thus far and his mobility continues to improve, but he is still in need of regular medical attention,” Deleo wrote in an email Thursday. “Up to this point, we have undertaken all of Pedro’s care and all costs associated with this care, and we will continue to do so until he is fully healed,”
Those costs, Deleo added, stand at about $1,000.
“Our veterinary team does not feel that there will be any additional costs borne by the adopter once (Pedro) has healed from his initial injuries, other than routine vaccinations, food, litter etc.”