High school girls face animal cruelty charges

Two Lower Lake High School girls are in Juvenile Hall facing animal cruelty charges over allegedly microwaving a hamster.

The hamster, Bugsy, survived, but three of his feet were severely burned in the ordeal. They later turned black and the hamster chewed them off, said Lake County Animal Control Officer Morgan Hermann.

“Now (Bugsy) has one leg,” she said.

The girls, ages 14 and 15, are accused of putting the hamster in the microwave twice. The second time, they saw his feet were cooking, she said.

They also briefly put him a freezer, said Clearlake Police Officer Carl Miller, who investigated the incident.

The incident occurred in December, but it was not reported to Animal Control and police until the students had been released for Spring break.

The girls were arrested Monday.

The girls have admitted to what they’d done, Miller said.

They microwaved Bugsy because they were bored, he said.

“These girls showed no remorse,” Miller said.