[Wornat1959]

Neuseeland
Nachbar überfuhr Katze der Premierministerin Jacinda Ardern – die verzieh ihm

Die Katze der neuseeländischen Staatschefin war eine kleine Berühmtheit: Paddles hatte nicht nur einen überzähligen Zeh an jeder Pfote, sondern auch einen eigenen Twitter-Account mit vielen Fans. Doch 2017 starb sie – jetzt erklärt derjenige, der dafür verantwortlich war, die Umstände.


Die neuseeländische Premierministerin Jacinda Ardern bei einem Termin
©Bullit Marquez / Picture Alliance

Jeder, der eine Katze besitzt, die Freilauf genießen darf, kennt diese große Angst. Die, dass das geliebte Haustier einem Auto unter die Räder gerät. Man hat die Wahl: Das Tier einzusperren, obwohl man weiß, wie gern die Mieze durch ihr Revier streunert – oder damit leben, dass das Draußensein für Katzen immer auch ein Risiko ist. Die Familie der neuseeländischen Premierministerin Jacinda Ardern, 38, entschied sich für letzteres.


Katzen leben leider gefährlich

Ihre Katze Paddles, eine kleine, rot-weiß gefleckte Mieze mit ungewöhnlich großen Pfoten und an jeder davon einem zusätzlichen Daumen, hatten Ardern und ihr Partner einst aus dem Tierheim geholt. Das Paar hing sehr an dem Tier. Paddles bekam sogar seinen eigenen Twitter-Kanal, der bald unzählige Fans hatte: @FirstCatofNZ. Doch kurz nachdem die Arderns 2017 nach Auckland umgezogen waren, passierte das Unglück: Paddles wurde überfahren und starb.

Nicht nur die Arderns trauerten um ihren geliebten kleinen Mitbewohner – auch viele Menschen aus Neuseeland und der ganzen Welt ließen ihnen Trost, Mitgefühl und Beileidsbekundungen zukommen. Da spielten politische Ansichten plötzlich keine Rolle mehr.

Jetzt, gut zwei Jahre später, stellte sich der Mann, der für Paddles' Tod verantwortlich ist, der Öffentlichkeit: ein Nachbar des Paares in Auckland. Er kann allerdings wenig dafür, dass das Tier so früh sterben musste. Glaubt man seinen Aussagen, geriet ihm die Katze unvermittelt vors Auto, so dass er nicht mehr schnell genug reagieren konnte. Er habe sich furchtbar gefühlt, weil er wusste, wie wichtig die Katze für Ardern und ihren Partner war, sagte er einem neuseeländischen News-Portal.


Die Premierministerin ist dem Nachbarn nicht böse

Der Premierministerin habe er die schlechte Nachricht übrigens sofort überbracht. Seine beiden Kinder hätten zudem Beileidskarten an das Paar geschrieben (,in denen sie Ardern zudem baten, ihren Vater nicht ins Gefängnis zu schicken). Ardern machte damals die Umstände von Paddles' Tod nicht öffentlich, um den Mann und seine Familie zu schützen.

Nach seinem öffentlichen Geständnis gab es nun zum ersten Mal seit Jahren einen neuen Tweet auf dem Twitter-Account der verstorbenen Katze: "Ich verzeihe dir", steht da.

Quellen: Twitter / AFP

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Ich habe das Thema eigentlich in den neuseeländischen Nachrichten gelesen eben ...
Das ist der Artikel von stuff.co.nz dazu:

Confession:
'I killed Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's cat, Paddles'

Amy Maas - 17:43, Jul 10 2019


(dahinter liegt ein Video - siehe Quellenlink)
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's cat Paddles was hit and killed by a car in October 2017.

As Jacinda Ardern opened Parliament as the Prime Minister of New Zealand for the very first time, [ Link nur für registrierte Mitglieder sichtbar. Bitte einloggen oder neu registrieren ].

Paddles, who had extra toes (often referred to as her "opposable thumbs"), had plenty of fans. An [ Link nur für registrierte Mitglieder sichtbar. Bitte einloggen oder neu registrieren ] dedicated to the polydactyl cat's antics after Ardern was elected had amassed over 11,000 followers.​

She famously interrupted a phone call between Ardern and United States President Donald Trump with her loud meows. And she was profiled in Vanity Fair.

After she died in the quiet Auckland suburb of Point Chevalier in October 2017, people started laying flowers outside Ardern's home. Paddles' death even [ Link nur für registrierte Mitglieder sichtbar. Bitte einloggen oder neu registrieren ] [ Link nur für registrierte Mitglieder sichtbar. Bitte einloggen oder neu registrieren ] in [ Link nur für registrierte Mitglieder sichtbar. Bitte einloggen oder neu registrieren ], [ Link nur für registrierte Mitglieder sichtbar. Bitte einloggen oder neu registrieren ], the [ Link nur für registrierte Mitglieder sichtbar. Bitte einloggen oder neu registrieren ] and the [ Link nur für registrierte Mitglieder sichtbar. Bitte einloggen oder neu registrieren ].

But not everyone in Point Chev had seen Paddles around. On that fateful October day, a neighbour a few doors down went home during his lunch break to pick up his laptop, backed out of his drive and rounded a corner. Out of nowhere shot a cat. In fact the first cat of New Zealand.

At first, the man, who only wanted to be identified as Chris, said he thought the cat might still be alive because after the collision it ran off.

And as Chris wandered round the front lawns of his neighbours' homes trying to find her, he still had hope.


Jacinda Ardern with her cat Paddles outside her Point Chevalier home the day after the 2017 election.

The prime minister's next door neighbour came out and asked him if he needed help. He told her he'd hit a cat; he asked if it was hers. She didn't own a cat. When he said it was ginger, she looked alarmed.

"She said: 'that's my neighbour's cat'," Chris explained.

"I pointed at [Ardern's] house and said: 'Not this neighbour!'"

When the woman nodded, Chris' stomach dropped. They found Paddles lying behind a fence. She was clearly not alive.

With both the prime minister and her partner Clarke Gayford away from home, the woman offered to take Paddles to the vet in the vain hope that she would survive.

"I went back to work and tried to gather myself. Later in the afternoon, I popped back to the neighbour's house and she said Paddles hadn't survived. But Clarke was home.

"I went over and knocked on the door and Clarke came out. He was really nice and said 'look, it could have happened to anyone'. He was clearly very upset."

Chris let it go, and his two young children wrote a condolence card for Ardern and Gayford. In it his daughter, who was seven at the time, wrote that she hoped Ardern would not send him to prison.


Paddles died after being hit by a car outside Prime Minister Jacina Ardern's home in November 2017.

About a month later, Chris received a phone call from a blocked number. He didn't pick up, but his voicemail did.

"It was none other than Jacinda and she basically rang up to say 'sorry you had to go through that, thank you for stopping by and thanks for the card'.

"It was *******ly nice of her to take time out of her day to check that I was okay for running over her cat."

And a few months later, Chris confessed to the prime minister in person.

"I was at the park in Point Chevalier with my two older kids and saw this small entourage come down by the beach, it was Jacinda with some relatives. Being classic New Zealand, everyone recognises her but looks the other way, everyone left her alone and I was 100 per cent going to do the same," he said.

"However, my son goes over - he was four at the time - and starts playing with her niece on those circular seats that spin round and Jacinda was essentially overseeing them both.

"My boy was boisterous and I wanted to make sure that nothing bad happened to her niece because something bad had already happened to her cat."

After a brief chat, the prime minister told Chris she lived locally.

"I told her I was aware of where she lived and I basically confessed that I was the one who ran over Paddles."

"I said, 'I'm so sorry', and then she said, 'No, I'm sorry' and it kind of went round in circles."


New Zealand's "First Cat" Paddles - famous for its extra toes and for interrupting a phone call with United States President Donald Trump.

Chris said he still feels bad for killing the prime minister's cat.

"It was kind of shocking at first, and I felt fairly bad because I knew a bit of the back story, I knew Paddles had some kind of social media presence and had an extra toe.

"I was also aware that to Jacinda and Clarke, Paddles was their fur baby at that point that they loved, so I was pretty gutted. But I obviously later found out they were pregnant so that made me feel a bit better that I didn't take out the only one thing that they loved."

The Prime Minister's office could not comment as she is away on holiday.


Chris said he felt "a bit better" after hearing Ardern and her partner Clarke Gayford were expecting a baby. They're pictured here with baby Neve.

Stuff

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