UPPER EAST SIDE — Donations are flowing in to cover the vet bills for Lucy the cat who was allegedly tortured for months by her owner's roommate.
The 29-year-old owner, who only wanted to be identified by her first name Danielle, told DNAinfo New York Thursday that she came home to her Second Avenue apartment near East 89th Street on Saturday to find her cat covered in injuries.
She said she had found Lucy injured multiple times before, but it wasn't clear to her that it was from abuse until Saturday, when vets discovered the cat had suffered a dislocated and broken leg, burns to her tail and bottom and broken teeth and ribs.
Her roommate, Declan Garrity, 24, who works as an analyst for Barclays, was arrested Wednesday morning in the apartment and charged with felony aggravated animal cruelty, misdemeanor torturing, injuring and not feeding an animal, according to authorities. He's due back in court on Feb. 29.
Meanwhile, Lucy is fighting for her life at Animal Medical Center on East 62nd St. The 3-and-a-half-year-old, multi-colored feline has been undergoing surgery to stabilize her enough so doctors can set her bones. Lucy is being fed through an IV since her teeth were broken, too, Danielle said.
The ASPCA has agreed to foot Lucy's $10,000 medical bills, but Danielle still needs to pay for the cat's upcoming procedures and bills from previous visits to the vet during the time of the ongoing abuse.
"As part of our partnership with the NYPD, the ASPCA routinely provides life-saving medical care to animal cruelty victims, such as Lucy, either through the ASPCA Animal Hospital or our various veterinary partners across the city, including Animal Medical Center," a spokeswoman for the ASPCA said.
To cover the rest of the medical costs, Danielle's relatives set up a GoFundMe page on Thursday, which had already gathered $2,400 of its $5,000 goal by Friday afternoon.
"Based on the overwhelming response of people wanting to help, the funds beyond my expenses will be donated to the ASPCA," Danielle told DNAinfo on Friday.
"I'm extremely grateful for the outpouring of love and generosity."
