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Sharon Hill police arrest a man they say abandoned kittens in sealed crates outside a vet clinic

Harold Thomas left two sealed crates outside of the Spayed Club Veterinary Clinic in Sharon Hill, according to investigators. Five kittens suffocated inside the crates.

Harold Thomas admitted to abandoning two kittens outside of the clinic, but denied leaving the three others, despite being recorded on surveillance footage doing so, according to police.
Harold Thomas admitted to abandoning two kittens outside of the clinic, but denied leaving the three others, despite being recorded on surveillance footage doing so, according to police.Read moreAlejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer

A Collingdale man has been charged with multiple counts of aggravated animal cruelty after, police said, he dropped off two sealed crates of kittens at a local veterinary clinic, leaving them outside to suffocate in the heat.

Harold Thomas, 59, also faces five counts of neglect of animals, one for each kitten killed, according to court documents. Thomas did not return a request for comment Wednesday, and there was no indication he had hired a lawyer.

The owner of the Spayed Club Veterinary Clinic in Sharon Hill contacted the Brandywine Valley SPCA to report that a crate had been left outside of the clinic July 15, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed in Thomas’ arrest. The clinic was closed that day, a Saturday, and recorded temperatures had reached a high of 90 degrees.

The crate’s lid had been taped shut when a worker discovered it hours later, finding two kittens dead inside it, the affidavit said. Surveillance footage from the business showed a man carrying the crate to the clinic and then quickly walking away.

Nearly two months later, on Aug. 11, the same man was seen on surveillance footage dropping off a second crate outside of the clinic when it was closed, the affidavit said. Workers didn’t discover the crate until the following afternoon. Like the first one, it had been sealed shut; three dead kittens were found inside.

Sharon Hill police, using the two surveillance videos, were able to identify Thomas as the suspect, the affidavit said. During an interview with detectives, he admitted to leaving the first crate on July 15, but denied dropping off the second one earlier this month.

The Brandywine Valley SPCA’s chief executive officer, Adam Lamb, thanked the Sharon Hill officers in a statement Wednesday, saying that cruelty to animals becomes more prominent in the summer months.

“Litters aren’t litter,” Lamb said. “Cats deserve more, and we will do everything we can to get justice for them so they may rest in peace.”