Man's reward offer in cat-abuse case called 'dangerous'

When someone shot a cat full of BBs and dumped the nearly dead animal into McKay Bay in the early hours of Sept. 1, pet lovers quickly raised thousands in reward money.

Now a new player has jumped into the effort to bring the cat abuser to justice.

Codye Jumping Wolf is a part-Lakota Sioux, part-time Tampa resident and former Army Ranger who owns a Montana ranch that specializes in paramilitary training.

Jumping Wolf's War Eagle Ranch, located in Prey, Mont., has put up a $5,000 reward for information leading to the capture of Lovey the cat's tormentors. Native Americans from New Mexico and Arizona have contributed another $3,000 to the reward, he says.

"If you know anything about Native American culture, you know we believe that you don't hurt anything created by the Creator unless it is for food purposes," Jumping Wolf says in a phone interview from his 5,000-acre ranch in the foothills of the Absaloka Bear Tooth Mountains. "When we go hunting or fishing, we say a prayer after we kill."

Jumping Wolf says a bigger reward increases the chances people with information will come forward.

But Jumping Wolf's methods - to have potential informants come to him if they want the reward money - is not sitting well with the people in Tampa investigating the case.

"It is very dangerous to have somebody saying they are speaking in the name of the case and asking people to forward them information," Hillsborough County Animal Services spokeswoman Marti Ryan says. "We have zone investigators, we have witnesses who claim to be witnesses to something, we have timelines and contacts and lots of I's to dot and t's to cross. If we don't do this properly, it will not hold up in the court of law."

There is no need for concern, Jumping Wolf says.

"We are going to be giving the information to Marti Ryan," he says. "But we want to get the proper credit. I am doing this because I am an animal lover, but at the same time I have to get something out this."

The money raised by Jumping Wolf would add to a growing reward - now approaching $12,000 - offered by the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a Bradenton businessman and other individuals.

Jumping Wolf, 66, says he was outraged when he heard about the case when he was in Tampa.

Lovey was found by a passer-by in a white-and-blue cat carrier labeled "Kitty Penitentiary" in large letters.

The cat has since been adopted, according to Bonnie Voiland, executive director of Frankie's Friends, which raised money to pay for Lovey's health care.

Lovey is doing well, she says, but the BBs will stay in her and she needs dental surgery to repair damage to her teeth.

Despite that news, Jumping Wolf remains incensed.

"We have a lot of whackos out there," he says. "It could be one person. It could be a group of people."

Jumping Wolf, whose ranch advertises "Army Ranger and Navy Seal training," parachute jumping training and "booby trap rigging and detection" among other skills, claims a great deal of experience in tracking people down.

In addition to paramilitary training, and raising horse and cattle, War Eagle Ranch also runs a bounty-hunting operation, where he works with two other Native Americans - Chaska War Eagle and Daniel Charging Horse.

Jumping Wolf served two tours of duty in Vietnam as an Army Ranger and says he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result.

He is no stranger to Tampa.

In 1987, when he was known as George Moore, he started the Tampa chapter of the Guardian Angels, which he ran until 1993. He also worked as a private investigator in the 1970s and 1980s.

When he is not chasing bond jumpers, teaching novices the finer points of being an Army Ranger or tracking down those who would hurt animals, you can find Jumping Wolf in Chicago, behind a set of drums, with the Crazy House Blues Band. Or in Sarasota, taking care of his mother.