'We have been let down': 2 kittens allegedly stolen from pumpkin patch in Langley
The owners of a pumpkin patch in Langley are disappointed after a pair of seven-week-old kittens were reportedly stolen from their property.
Katie Brownlee, the operations manager at Aldor Acres Family Farm says one of the kittens was taken on Tuesday and the other one vanished last week.
“We have been let down. We feel disappointed, disrespected and hurt,” Brownlee told CTV News Vancouver in a phone interview.
Brownlee says her grandparents Albert and Dorothy, who have been running the farm for 33 years have built their business on “trust and respect.”
“It very much infuriated them,” says Brownlee. “To have someone come into our home and take a family member, they are our pets. They are our family.”
Browlee says the kittens were in secure enclosures and they were taken in the middle of the day.
“It happened during the day when there was lots of people around, so it’s not like a coyote could have gotten to them," she says.
She says Aldor Acres Family Farm prides itself on allowing visitors to interact with the animals, by getting to pet them and hold them. It’s something they now believe needs to be changed.
“There’s so much learning opportunity in having hands-on experience with animals,” Brownlee added. “People now won’t be able to freely hold our kittens, puppies or bunnies without a staff member present and we don’t have enough staff to stand at every pen, so parents won’t be able to have that same experience with their kids anymore.”
The kittens, which were from two different litters, also had their forever homes lined up.
“They were adopted out and were supposed to go to their homes this weekend,” Brownlee says.
Brownlee adds that while she hasn’t yet reported the incidents to BC SPCA or police, she hopes whoever took the kittens will be held accountable “in their own way.”
“I hope they know what they did wasn’t right,” she says. “It’s a disappointment not only for us but everyone else that comes here for that hands-on experience with animals.”
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