 |
|
|
|
|
Three husky dogs break out of backyard, kill family cat
By Moryt Milo
All the neighbors knew Alexandra Huff's cat, Max. The 1-year-old gray short-haired cat plopped down in front of them to be scratched. He hung out in the bushes and played with other cats, and he wasn't overly scared of dogs. It turned out to be Max's undoing.
On March 8, Max was savagely killed by three Husky-type dogs that broke out of their owner's backyard on Kara Way and roamed onto Linda Drive.
"I was outside when I heard a dog yelp," said Peter Campbell, 47, Huff's neighbor and witness to the attack . "I noticed the dogs, but at first didn't see the cat. Then I saw Max being pulled out of the bushes and knew he must have been trying to fight back. One dog had Max in his mouth and the other dogs were tearing him apart."
Campbell was upset and went after the dogs to save Max. But it was too late. The dogs didn't let-up on their pack-like behavior and ran down the road, with the cat clenched in the mouth of one dog, while the other dogs kept attacking. One hundred yards later, the dogs finally dropped Max to the ground.
Campbell called out to his neighbor, Linda Utschig, to get a box.
Max had been playing in her yard, and she came outside to see what was happening
"I heard a [dog] cry and then saw one of the huskies along the side of our house," she said. "But I only saw one dog, until my daughter said, 'Mom, there are three.'"
Utschig also witnessed one of the dogs take Max out on the street and start attacking it. She was upset about Max, but she was also concerned for the neighborhood children. It was late afternoon, schools were letting out, and children would be coming home.
"I called animal control and told them there were three dogs roaming the neighborhood, and was worried they might attack some children," she said.
At first, Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority told Utschig it would take two hours, but when Utschig explained her concerns about the children, animal control arrived within a half hour.
By then Campbell had put Max in a box, and the dogs were no longer aggressive. They were acting friendly, Utschig said.
Campbell kept the dogs occupied until Animal Control arrived and even helped officer Kevin McMahon put the dogs in the Animal Control truck.
"Max was the greatest cat I've ever known," Campbell said. "He was so people friendly."
Throughout the afternoon, Huff had no idea what had happened, and Utschig and Campbell had to give her the bad news when she returned home from work at 5:30 p.m.
"My neighbors wanted to wait until my daughter [Seyka] was out of earshot," Huff said.
Max was her cat.
Seyka, 10, was distraught when she found out, Huff said. The family waited a long time until it found the right cat to replace Max.
"He was just perfect," Huff said. "We rescued him from a pound in Fresno when he was about 6 months old."
Friday evening, Huff went down to pick up Max's body at the Human Society of Santa Clara Valley, 2530 Lafayette St., in Santa Clara. She didn't know the dogs had been released from the pound until one of her neighbors mentioned she saw the dogs back in the owner's yard on Sunday morning.
Huff was distressed by the news and asked Animal Control why the dogs were released.
Huff said Animal Control explained there were no prior reported incidents related to the dogs so officials had no just cause to hold the dogs. They also told her she could press charges for the value of the cat.
But Huff said, "I can't place a value on my cat and I was concerned about the dogs killing again. I don't want this happening to another cat."
The owner of the dogs, Dave SanAugustin, was out of town when the incident happened. A pet-sitter was watching his dogs, and called him Friday night and told him the dogs were missing.
"I was frantically trying to locate the dogs," he said.
SanAugustin called the Campbell Police Department and was told to contact Animal Control. Animal control confirmed its officers had picked up the dogs, and the pet-sitter picked up the dogs Friday evening.
SanAugustin said he knew nothing about Max until receiving a call from Animal Control three days later.
"On March 11, at 11:55 a.m., officer McMahon called and advised me that there had been an incident with my dogs and an animal had been killed," he said. "It was the first notification I received from the county."
Later that day, McMahon came out to SanAugustin's home to inspect the premises. He also provided SanAugustin with Huff's name and address. Until then he didn't know who was involved.
"I contacted her and offered to buy her daughter another cat," he said. "What do you say to someone? I'm a pet owner, too, and I can certainly appreciate how she feels. But what happened was an accident."
Huff said she is not so sure.
"I was told that this wasn't the first time one of his dogs killed a cat," she said. "When I asked Dave about the prior incident he said it had been another dog, and that dog now lives in Oakland."
SanAugustin, acknowledged to The Campbell Reporter that there had been a previous incident, but said, "The dog has been placed elsewhere."
Huff is still concerned, and said, "Animal Control came out to check his house and told him that his fences weren't secure."
Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority Operations Manager Dan Soszynski could not verify this information because the case was still under investigation at press time.
"We want to do what's right under the ordinances," he said. "Dog owners have rights as well and we have to ensure there is due process."
But he added, "We don't think it's acceptable for dogs to run loose and attack other animals, and it is very important that neighbors report any incidents that occur so we have documentation on file."
Under Campbell Municipal Code Title 7--Animals, the definition of a "dangerous dog" is clearly defined as one "inflicting severe injury on a human or domestic animal on public or private property."
The code also defines a dangerous dog as one inflicting bites on a human or domestic animal without provocation.
If a dog is deemed dangerous, the municipal code requires an owner to keep his dog in an enclosed and locked kennel, with secured sides and a secured top attached to the sides, behind a fence that is not less than 6 feet high.
The owner, with the right to control any dog, is also required to restrain the animal by means of a leash, not exceeding 6 feet. The restraining rules do not apply to guide dogs, or dogs assisting security guards or peace officers.
But Huff is still uncomfortable about the dogs because their owner if away frequently.
"Although he sounded sincere, the only thing that worried me about our conversation was he didn't sound like he was going to charge right out and take immediate action to make sure this never happened again," she said. "That's my biggest worry."
Huff wants the aggressive dogs removed from the area.
"This is heartbreaking and I want people to know the dangers," she said.
|
|
|
|
Campbell, California
