ORLANDO, Fla. – Heartbroken residents in an east Orlando neighborhood are demanding action after two dogs were caught on camera attacking multiple pets, killing at least one.
Neighbors are calling on the dog owner to get the animals under control before another pet or person is harmed.
Heather Whitemore and her son were devastated after their cat, Tom, was attacked by the dogs early Saturday morning.
“He absolutely loved him,” she said. “He’s devastated that he got killed this way.”
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A neighbor alerted Whitemore to the attack.
“He told me that my big gray cat was under his car and had gotten attacked by these two dogs,” Whitemore said. “He said, ‘I scared them off, but he’s under my car.’”
Tom, barely able to walk, was rushed to the emergency vet.
Whitemore looked at her security footage to see what had happened.
“That video will be etched in my brain forever,” she said. “He was basically mauled. They played tug-of-war with him.”
Despite efforts to save Tom, his injuries were too severe.
“He was stable when I left him there, but he declined very badly overnight,” she said.
She added that he had broken ribs, a broken pelvis, and puncture wounds to his stomach.
With only a 40% chance of survival and a miserable recovery ahead, Whitemore made the painful decision to have Tom euthanized.
Tom wasn’t the only victim.
“They have attacked six cats that we know of,” Whitemore told News 6.
Other neighbors reported similar incidents on social media.
Rich Ramirez said the dogs tried to break into his screened-in patio, where his cat, Snow, sleeps.
“There was saliva here, and it was pulled out,” he said referring to the screen. “If they would’ve gone in there, oh my God, they would’ve destroyed my cat.”
Orange County Animal Services confirmed they are aware of the attacks and have issued citations to the owner.
However, the dogs have not been located since the attacks.
The owner has been directed to bring the dogs to Animal Services, pending a dangerous dog investigation.
Shelby, the dogs’ owner, spoke with News 6 but declined to appear on camera.
She said if she finds her dogs she will bring them to Animal Services. “They’re charging me $750 a day every day that I don’t bring them in. Where am I [going to] find my dogs? I’ve looked everywhere,” Shelby said.
Shelby apologized to Whitemore and offered to cover the vet bill. “I’m really sorry,” she said.
After discovering the dogs had dug under the gate to escape, Shelby added privacy fencing, a stack of bricks, and most recently, underground electric fencing in an effort to prevent future escapes.
But for Whitemore and her neighbors, the damage is already done.
“There’s a bunch of heartbroken cat owners right now,” Whitemore said. “We all loved our cats, and our cats are gone.”
Shelby mentioned there will always be risks when allowing pets to roam freely.
“You take a risk when you choose to let your cats outside and free roam the neighborhood. You take a risk for every natural predator that’s out here, every car that’s driving by,” she said.
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