A man has claimed his cat received death threats after he entered him into a dog swimming race.
Gus the cat created quite the name for himself on Sydney’s northern beaches for triumphing in local swimming races.
His owner, political strategist Glenn Druery, said that he initially was drawn to Gus as he wanted a dog-like cat who ‘loves the water’.
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But. according to Druery, not everyone is a fan of the furry feline.
Druery revealed he caused an uproar after he entered Gus into the annual Scotland Island Dog Race in 2019.
Every Christmas Eve, for almost 30 years, the competition sees dogs paddling the 550-metre stretch between Scotland Island and Church Point Wharf, in Sydney’s north.
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The winner receives dog food and a beer, so it's a hotly contested annual event.
Druery admits that while he entered the cat for a ‘bit of a laugh’, he ended up surpassing a couple of canines in the race.
Turns out, not every dog has its day.
However, the prank didn’t go down with the locals; as Druery said, it's now the ‘yobbos vs a little cat’.
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Yes, you read that correctly.
It’s even resulted in death threats, according to the owner.
He told the outlet: "One of these local parochial yobbos said he was going to shoot the cat and beat me up if he ever saw us again.
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"Another woman gestures this [slits throat] and pointed to the cat.
"I work in politics and I get that sort of nonsense all the time and I can deal with that, but they threaten[ed] my cat, for God's sake."
However, locals Louise and Vinnie, who have not been accused of sending death threats, to Gus believe Druery is asking for trouble.
"He's [Druery] not even a local, the guy who said all that crap," Louise said.
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"He doesn't live here, I don't understand it. He obviously just wanted the publicity."
When asked if she believes members of the community would kill the cat, she said they would instead opt for ‘choking’ Druery.
While Vinnie insisted the race started as ‘an island thing’, Druery’s prank meant he was ‘taking the p**s’ of their small town.
Druery was forced to scratch Gus from this year’s competition. Yikes, who knew things could get so catty?
Charisa Bossinakis