Pensacola, FL – Several teens in a Pensacola neighborhood are accused of a despicable act of cruelty that claimed the life of a beloved cat fondly referred to as Little Friend. Neighborhood surveillance footage revealed the horrific details of the horrific July 16 incident; the teenagers circled the friendly, young cat, dousing her with gasoline and lighting her on fire.

The video footage is too graphic to share.

Little Friend

Little Friend was part of a colony of cats in the Montclair subdivision cared for by the Hayden family.

Colony of cats cared for by the Hayden family

The two-year-old cat was a favorite of Ashlee Hayden, her husband, Don, said, “That was pretty much my wife’s favorite cat. She called me bawling. She was persistent, walking around the neighborhood, trying to find video footage and trying to find out who did this.”

Don believes he knows who is behind the sadistic act, telling Newsweek, “There were between five and seven teenagers, apparently one of them is as young as 11-years-old. They are very bad kids.”

The Escambia County Sheriff’s office is investigating. Animal Victory spoke with someone in the Special Victims Unit and learned that the case number is ECSO-23-OFF-013-223. There are two named suspects in the case, but the authorities are unwilling to provide the names. There is one charge of Felony Animal Cruelty.

If you are horrified by what these teenagers did, please add your name to the petition to help Animal Victory hold the authorities accountable for following through with this animal cruelty investigation. Those involved MUST be charged and sentenced for what they did to Little Friend!

Watch a news clip about Little Friend’s killing here.

We the undersigned demand that the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office conduct a thorough investigation into this despicable crime and charge each and every person involved. We, and our supporters, want to see these sadistic individuals held accountable for torturing and killing Little Friend. What they did to this innocent cat is beyond comprehension and they must be punished severely enough to prevent them from ever harming another living being. 

Individuals are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law. Animal Victory relies upon the authorities and the court system to determine guilt or innocence.

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Update 9/4/2023: Animal Victory has sent the petition to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.