FLORIDA -- Some residents of Fort Lauderdale’s Poinsettia Heights neighborhood say a pit bull has been attacking the area’s cats.
Even though residents want to stop such attacks, they say they are worried government red tape and the pit bull’s owner will delay a resolution, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Among the concerned residents is Bob Stroozas, who accuses a pit bull named Kush of killing Zina, Stroozas’ Siamese cat. Stroozas said he knows Kush was responsible for killing Zina because a neighbor saw Kush standing over the cat’s carcass.
"She was murdered right here," Stroozas told the Sun Sentinel, pointing to the spot outside the front gate of his home. "She was murdered right on this sidewalk. You could see the bloodstains where she tried to get back through the gate and she just couldn't make it."
The woman identified by neighbors as the pit bull’s owner couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday despite phone calls to a listed number. A woman who spoke to the Sun Sentinel earlier this week declined to comment.
For Kush to be labeled “aggressive,” Kuch and his owner would be required to appear in court. But before a hearing can be set, complaints must be notarized and sent to officials with Broward County's Animal Care and Adoption, said agency spokeswoman Lisa Mendheim.
As of Thursday, Mendheim said the agency has only had one substantiated report so far of the dog being loose, because a neighbor reportedly filmed the dog roaming free. The county plans to issue a fine over that.
Mendheim said it may be that residents are failing to phone the agency to report attacks when they happen.
"They need to contact us, bottom line," Mendheim said. "Not just this neighborhood, but any neighborhood."
In Kush's case, neighbors say they have called the police and county, but say the problem hasn’t yet been resolved. To report a dog bite or attack in Broward, call Lynete Davis, bite coordinator, at 954-359-1313, Ext. 9297.
(NBC 6 Miami - Nov 29, 2012)
