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They turned out in droves on a Friday night to mourn the loss of a “beautiful innocent little soul.”

Wiping away tears, they lit candles and sang the words to John Lennon’s “Imagine.”

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But now a western Newfoundland and Labrador community’s grief has turned into resolve as they demand justice for Mittens — a 13-year-old black and white domestic cat that was allegedly decapitated in the home of his caretaker and then dumped into the Atlantic Ocean.

As of Tuesday, more than 7,000 people had signed an online petition calling for police action. Hours later they got it, with two people criminally charged.

“There’s outrage, to put it mildly. How can someone do that?” said Shannon Delury, a groomer with a local volunteer-run animal rescue group based in Port aux Basques. “You can never get in someone’s head, right?”

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According to Delury, Mittens’ long-time owner — a retired Molson beer delivery man with a “special heart” for animals and who lived alone — passed away this summer. The local shelter took in Mittens, groomed him and then placed him in a temporary foster home.