An East Hamilton resident claims her cat was abducted by a pizza delivery driver and then left to fend for herself about 10 kilometers from her home.
Home security surveillance cameras captured the delivery man appearing to chase the family cat around the porch.
“He delivered the pizza, then went out of his way to put the pizza bag back in the car, then picked up our cat,” Rebecca Belforte said. World News.
Belforte says hours after the pizza was delivered around 5:54 p.m., the search for Dwight the cat began.
Belforte and her husband, Carlo, became concerned when they noticed that Dwight had disappeared while they were having dinner.
“So at some point the little guy slipped through our feet when we were fixing a lock or getting the pizza,” Belforte said. “If we eat pizza, he’s there because he wants it. So we noticed he wasn’t there.
The pair shook a bag of cat treats to try and find Dwight, but eventually gave up the search until morning assuming he might have gotten away.
“We checked outside in the morning to see if maybe he just had fun chasing squirrels or something stupid,” she said.
When the couple had the idea to check their home surveillance records, they were shocked to see the pizza delivery boy trying to catch their cat on the porch.
“He had our cat in his hands and he was walking to his car with our cat,” Belforte said. “He actually has to reposition the cat and hold it away from his body because of the cat fights, trying to get away.”
Since being informed of the circumstances, the pizzeria for which the driver worked has cooperated with the couple, according to Belforte. The restaurant even helped connect the couple to the driver.
The driver reportedly told the Belfortes the cat had been left in the area of Gordon Drummond Avenue and Kennard Street, about a 12-minute drive from the couple’s Rosedale address.
“He showed my husband a picture of our cat in his back seat,” Belforte recalled. “He showed my husband… a text message he sent to a roommate, saying, ‘Hey, I have a cat. “”
Hamilton Police have since filed a report into the incident and advised the family to cease contacting the driver. The couple have gained support on social media looking for Dwight.
“He’s the nicest cat in the world. He’s so nice,” Belforte said. “He’s happy to meow and rub up against you.”
The Belforte’s cat was adopted more than 12 years ago when he showed up one day at their home.
Dwight is described as a solid gray, declawed cat with a small white patch on his nose and dark stripes on his tail.
Rebecca Belforte can be contacted directly at 905-730-4159 by anyone with information on this matter.
