A grotesque sight greeted Kirkland Mayor Amy Walen on Oct. 8: bits and pieces of a dismembered animal scattered atop her mailbox.

Walen, who was elected as mayor by her fellow council members in early 2014, said she thought it might have been a cat, or possibly a small dog.

Walen said she wasn’t sure if the act had anything to do with her position with the city, but it wouldn’t be the first time she has had run-ins with disgruntled members of the public.

“I didn’t run for office because I was faithful to a party or I had a cause I cared about — I wanted to be of service,” Walen said. “I sort of fell into this public office thing, and I did not know it would be so harsh.”

Walen ran for council after beating breast cancer, and said she has had confrontations in the grocery store, threats of physical violence and a stalking incident that resulted in a restraining order.

A Redmond man threatened to arrest former mayor Joan McBride, who is now a member of the Washington State House of Representatives, in August, 2010. The man was sentenced to 40 months in prison on two counts of intimidating a public servant.

Dismembered animals is a gesture Kirkland Police Lt. Rob Saloum said he’d never seen before.

“Usually a hiker will find a bone and call us to make sure it’s not human,” Saloum said. “It’s normally a small animal left in the woods, not left on someone’s mailbox.”

Saloum pointed out the proximity of Halloween and the tendency of people to do “dumb stuff because they think it’s comical,” but also said Walen’s case could add up to harassment.

Walen, who lives in a semi-rural area with her husband and 15-year-old nephew, said residents should know her heart is in the right place.

“Whatever I’ve done, my nephew hasn’t done anything,” she said. “The creepy clown thing is big and is all over Facebook, and then we end up with a dead animal on our mailbox. It’s hard to tell him the world is safe and everybody is, for the most part, good.”