Sentence:  My exasperation turned to horror with the realisation that a cat cast in plaster would sink which sent me scrambling for the scoop net. Adding insult to injury, the bystanders cheered his [the cat's] undignified retrieval. With a mortified hiss and yowl he <WSD>clomped</WSD> with bedraggled hauteur below decks. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To walk heavily or clumsily, as with clogs.