BALLSTON SPA – There are about two dozen searchers who showed up outside the Saratoga County Animal Shelter Friday afternoon, and then split up, determined to find a missing cat that was last seen about one month prior. At the same time, those animal lovers were also searching for justice.

“This is an animal that meant something to a boy who lost his father, to a wife who lost her husband,” said Julia Weber, one of the searchers. “They don’t need to suffer another loss.”

It was back in early January when Kane, who turns 6 in April, failed to come home one night.

“I figured that first full day he was out and about and he’s not going to come home,” said Jamie DiGiavanni, Kane’s owner. “I figured this is not normal. It’s not like Kane. He would come home every night.”

DiGiavanni decided to ask her neighbor, Anthony Gargano, who owns the Spring Street Deli & Pizzeria three doors down if he had seen her beloved tabby who often stops at his restaurant for treats. She says Gargano told her he knew nothing about the missing cat.

“On January 10th, I received a phone call from the animal shelter stating it was on video of Kane being dropped off,” DiGiavanni said.

Gargano has been charged with Animal Cruelty, a misdemeanor, for allegedly grabbing Kane, driving him to the shelter, and leaving him outside the shelter after hours.

He pled not guilty to the charges in Milton Town Court.

While searchers are hoping to find Kane, Jamie is hoping he finds his way home, even if it is about six miles as the crow flies.

“Regardless of what Kane did, or whether (Jamie) let him out or not, what Anthony Gargano did was a crime and there’s no excuse for that,” Weber said.

Gargano is due back in court on February 20th. Many of the searchers say they will be in court that day too, continuing their search for accountability and justice.