Amber Pena has two dogs, and lives in a busy neighborhood just off North Avenue.
Several years ago, one of the dogs, a boxer-pit bull mix named Sniper killed a neighborhood cat. He was impounded, and to get him back, Amber had to agree to keep him muzzled and on a leash at all times when he was not fenced in his kennel.
Last month, Amber says she ignored those rules, and took a risk by letting her dogs outside.
She says, "They wanted to go out, and I let them out, and they seen the cat. I slipped on my behalf, and I understand, and it's not going to happen again."
Sniper and another dog named Zander killed a cat. There is some dispute about where the cat was when it was attacked.
Amber maintains the cat was in her yard. But according to Penny McCarty with Mesa County
Animal Services, the cat was in its own yard.
Sniper and Zander were impounded, and Amber learned that she would be able to get Zander back with restrictions, but Sniper would be deemed a "dangerous dog," and would be put to sleep.
Now Amber wants to use this experience as a warning for other pet owners who think they can get around the rules. She says, "Take care of your dog, keep them on a muzzle, because these people are serious."
(KKCO - May 11, 2012)
