A quick-thinking veterinarian saved the life of a kitten after a "depraved" man tortured it and injected it with heroin, authorities say. A Pennsylvania clinic had considered euthanizing the abused kitten, which was lethargic and suffering head trauma, but it revived after it was treated with Narcan, a drug generally used to treat overdoses in humans, reports the Philadelphia Daily News. The kitten has been nicknamed "Hope" and will be transferred for adoption after it has made a full recovery.
Police found the kitten next to the car of 24-year-old suspect James Myers in the town of West Whiteland early Sunday morning, Main Line Media News reports. It had a rope tied around its neck and had several teeth knocked out. "We don't know if it was being dragged behind the car or was being slammed down, but it had substantial amounts of trauma to it," the district attorney says. He adds that Myers had 22 bags of heroin on him, and hundreds of used bags were found in his car, along with 46 hypodermic needles, reports Fox. Myers has been charged with drug possession and animal cruelty. (More kitten stories.)