South Dakota: 'Horse-trailer full' of dogs killed after girl's death

SOUTH DAKOTA -- Oglala Sioux officials have rounded up and killed dogs on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation following the death of an 8-year-old girl who was attacked and killed by a pack on Tuesday.

Deputy Police Chief John Mousseau tells the Rapid City Journal that “a horse-trailer full” of dogs was killed Thursday.

Jayla Rodriguez, a third-grader at Red Cloud Indian School, was killed by a pack of dogs late Tuesday afternoon while she was sledding at the reservation. Her death renewed concerns among tribal leaders about the longstanding problem of packs of roaming dogs.

A pack of dogs outside of Pine Ridge on Thursday afternoon.
(Photo: Chris Huber / Rapid City Journal)

Some residents are upset by what they call unnecessary seizures and brutal tactics. Vivian Locust said officials showed up at her home unannounced and took one of her dogs, a bloodhound-pit bull mix named Harvey. The officials also shot one of her nephew’s dogs in front of him, she said.

“The idiots shot him without caring,” Locust said.

Her husband, Joe Locust, described Thursday’s roundup as “Gestapo tactics.”

Vivian Locust said her animals had nothing to do with the girl’s death, but that she often sees a pack of stray dogs in a wooded area behind the Rodriguez family home.

All stray dogs are being viewed as potential threats to public safety, according to Mousseau. The tribal housing authority hired contractors to round up the stray dogs, kill them and leave their bodies in a landfill, he said.

Mousseau and other Pine Ridge residents who say the stray dog problem is rampant said dog owners need to take better care of their dogs and not let them run loose.

(Sioux Falls Argus Leader - ‎Nov 21, 2014‎)

Earlier:

• Pack of dogs kills girl on Pine Ridge Reservation