Dr. Kristen Lindsey, a vet in Texas, has been fired after posting a photo on Facebook showing herself with a dead cat, which had been shot through the head with an arrow.
Since the photo was posted, the image went viral and thousands on social media sites have been calling for Lindsey to be arrested.
Lindsey created the firestorm by posting a photo of herself holding the dead cat up, adding a comment to the image stating: "My first bow kill, lol. The only good feral tomcat is one with an arrow through it's head! Vet of the year award...Gladly accepted."
The post created waves of criticism, and rumors emerged that she had been fired. After those rumors broke she posted a comment stating: "No I did not lose my job. Lol. Psshh. Like someone would get rid of me. I'm awesome!"
However, the Washington Animal Clinic in Brenham, 100 miles from Houston, did fire the vet from her job, stating: "We are absolutely appalled, shocked, upset, and disgusted by the conduct. We do not allow such conduct and we condemn it in the strongest possible manner."
Thousands have been calling for her to be arrested, but Austin County Sheriff Jack Brandes has insisted that it is not that easy: "We can't arrest and charge someone like that based on a picture on the internet. We have to make sure that is true and correct. Anybody can take a computer and alter a photograph."
Brandes has confirmed that two deputies have been assigned to the case to investigate the allegations of animal cruelty.
He said: "This kind of stuff shouldn't happen in our society. It's a very sad thing. I've had people calling me from all over the country expressing their concern."
The Sheriff's Office was also forced to make a further statement to decline rumors that no prosecution was taking place: "Reports being made by some news organizations concerning non-prosecution, are, to say the least, fabricated suppositions created by the 'sound bite' method of television journalism.
"Sheriff Brandes has been open and candid in every interview he's granted. While those interviews can take over 20 minutes, the news media shows only the three seconds of what they consider newsworthy for their purposes. We stand by our statement made earlier today."
