Pit bulls rip screen door apart and invade home, attacking and killing family's Chihuahua

AUSTRALIA -- Two dogs which allegedly broke into a north-west Canberra living room, slaughtered the family's chihuahua and injured its owner, have been surrendered to the ACT government.

The dogs' owner made contact on Tuesday evening after seeing media reports of the incident.

"The owner is cooperating with Domestic Animal Services. A full investigation, including statements from witnesses, will now take place to determine what happens to the dogs," Domestic Animal Services registrar Fleur Flanery said.

Dunlop couple Brenda Goldstraw and Jodie Sutton were distraught after their four-year-old chihuahua Jiminy was savaged in their own home by the dogs running rampant across the neighborhood.

Ms Goldstraw said her 20-year-old daughter Isabelle was at home with Jiminy and their other chihuahua Flea at the time.

Isabelle Goldstraw with her dog Flea after an attack by two dogs
 killed her other pet Chihuahua in her living room and left
her with an injured finger. Photo: Jay Cronan

"Our dogs were barking at our back side gate so she went out and the other two dogs were there, they were running around our complex," Ms Goldstraw said.

"[Isabelle] put our dogs inside and took water out to the dogs and took a photo of them because she was going to post it on [the Facebook page] Canberra Lost Pets. She came back inside and the two dogs busted through the fly screen of the locked screen door to get into the dogs and attacked Jiminy."

Isabelle tried to tear the dogs away but they turned on her, shredding her hand.

"Once they came through the living room screen door it was just the pack mentality that took over," she said.

The dogs then escaped through the hole in the screen door, carrying Jiminy with them, leaving Flea in the loungeroom.

Jiminy's broken body was later recovered down by the creek on the bend of Kerrigan Street and Ginninderra Drive.

A ranger combed the surrounding streets for the dogs all afternoon but couldn't find them.

"He did around 200 kilometers driving around looking for them," Ms Goldstraw said. "We rang them on Saturday and they said they were coming back out but we haven't heard from them since."

Isabelle underwent surgery on her hand on Saturday and it could be months before she has fully recovered.

It is believed the same dogs broke into a neighboring backyard a day earlier and savaged another treasured family pet.

A day earlier, Amanda Mitchener and her husband Tony were overseas when they learnt their dog Saphie had been butchered in their own backyard.

Their neighbor Lanie and her 12-year-old daughter Phoebe had been caring for the five-year-old Pomeranian chihuahua cross and made the gruesome discovery last Thursday.

"Phoebe was coming home from school when she saw two Staffordshire bull-terrier dogs (aka pit bulls) inside our backyard," Mrs Mitchener said.

"They didn't know how those two dogs got into our backyard because the gate was locked. When Lanie and Phoebe opened the gate about 3.35pm, those two vicious dogs ran away and they found my little Saphie lying dead on the ground with blood around her neck and the other dogs' saliva over her body.

"Phoebe was screaming and crying when she found out that Saphie was gone. She's still traumatized by the incident and I am devastated."

RIP little Saphie

The Mitchener family adopted Saphie from the RSPCA in 2009 aged six weeks.

"She's been my little girl since then. It's breaking my heart when my son Jakob, 2, woke up this morning asked for Saphie because we will never be able to walk her like we used to do," Mrs Mitchener said.

"My husband Tony, our son Jakob and I are devastated and hoping that those dogs who killed her will be found soon and their owners are held accountable."

Ms Flanery​ urged the community to report any sightings of the dogs behind the attacks, which have been described as medium-sized cross-breeds - a white male and a brindle and white female.

Ms Flanery said rangers ramped up their patrols of the area after reports of the killings.

"This has covered a wide area including adjoining nature reserves and grassed areas," she said.

"Local residents have been assisting rangers with the search including using social media, such as the Canberra Lost Pets Database Facebook page, in an attempt to determine the whereabouts of the dogs.

"A thorough search of the Domestic Animal Services dog registration database is also underway and rangers may contact owners of dogs of similar description in an attempt to identify and capture the dogs."

Ms Flanery said Domestic Animal Services had contacted the owners of both the dead dogs to offer support and take statements and had alerted RSPCA and ACT Policing of the attacks.

The owners of the dogs killed in the incidents have been told the two dogs have been surrendered, the government said.

(Canberra Times - Nov 24, 2015)