By Shereen Siewert
Even after new felony charges were filed, a judge on Tuesday continued a signature bond for a Wausau man accused of beating his former girlfriend’s cat so brutally the animal lost an eye and was euthanized due to the extent of her injuries.
Andrew Gehr, 30, initially faced a misdemeanor charge of animal mistreatment in the case. That charge was met with sharp criticism from his former girlfriend’s friends, family members and other animal activists who insisted the allegations against Gehr rose to a felony level.
Three days after the initial charge was filed, Marathon County Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Barnett filed a motion seeking to amend the complaint and charge to a single count of intentional or negligent animal mistreatment causing disfigurement, under the same state statute. The new charge, approved by a judge in February, is a felony.
Court records show officers were called at about 8:25 a.m. Aug. 22 to a home on Robb Street in Schofield for a report of a family disturbance. When officers arrived, they discovered Gehr’s girlfriend’s pet cat, Penelope, in a shed in the backyard, her eye popped out of its socket and her nose and mouth encrusted with blood and dirt.
Police say Gehr, who was living at the home at the time, told his young daughter to go play downstairs, then took the cat, beat her within inches of her life and hid her near-lifeless body in the shed of their shared home. Gehr’s then-girlfriend searched for Penelope for days – all while Gehr assisted in the “search” and acted as though he knew nothing.
At the scene, police found blood and urine, along with the cat’s bedding, which was stained with blood and had been thrown in the trash, according to court documents.
Gehr was arrested and taken to the Marathon County Jail. Penelope was taken to a local vet, who determined her injuries were similar to those which resulted from being “kicked by a horse, being in a dog fight or hit by a car,” the complaint states. The cat was euthanized due to the extent of her injuries, which likely resulted in total blindness and loss of brain function, court documents state.
Gehr appeared May 3 in Marathon County Circuit Court for an initial appearance on the new charges, which advocates hoped would result in a cash bond, rather than the $1,000 signature bond previously set. But online court records show Circuit Judge Greg Strasser kept the same bond with the same conditions, which also prohibit Gehr from owning any animals until the case concludes.
A preliminary hearing is set for May 17.
