COMM 337: Cat saga continues

Two new stories on The Anchorage Daily News' website today covering the saga of Carl the cat in civil court in Palmer, Alaska. The first, posted at 3:20 p.m. AKDT, established nobody was certain who owned Carl. After two days of testimony, trial recessed for the weekend and resumes Monday.

You need a program the players straight. Instead, the ADN provides a useful background graf (well, two grafs) right after a summary lede:

Catherine Fosselman, owner of the accounting firm, is suing a former employee, Staci Fieser, and her husband, Jason Fieser, for the return of Carl, along with $100,000 in punitive damages. Trial started Wednesday with selection of a 12-member jury. Fosselman testified Thursday, and her lawyer, Andrew Robinson, has concluded his case.

According to employees, Fosselman retrieved Carl from the burning building, neglecting other items of value to her and her company, and gave him to Fieser for safekeeping. Fieser took him home, and he’s lived with the Fiesers ever since.

Friday morning's testimony established that several people took care of the cat, one of two that lived in the accounting firm's office. It also established that Fosselman stopped taking him home for weekends "after he peed on her bed."

Testimony continued Friday afternoon, and the ADN filed an update at 1:52 a.m. today. It is shorter, but includes a good, readable background graf:

By now, details of the cat fight are well known to those following the case:

Carl was brought to the accounting office as a kitten by a former co-owner and adopted by the staff. In 2006, fire destroyed the office. According to testimony, Fosselman retrieved Carl from the burning building, neglecting other items of value to her and her company, and gave him that night to Fieser for safekeeping.

He's been with the Fiesers ever since.

A couple of things I like about this bit. It's brief, it's clear and it features an irresistable pun on "catfight."

A footnote. If you were wondering what "Mat Su" means (and even if you weren't), it's not a Chinese recipe. It's an abbreviation for Matanuska-Susitna Borough, a county named after two rivers that flow together just north of Anchorage.