California: Animal Control won't do anything about killer pit bull because the owner told them it was a "therapy dog". Hey Animal Control, real service animals do not attack, maul and kill other animals!

CALIFORNIA -- A traumatic scene in an East Sacramento neighborhood where a homeowner said a pit bull killed her kitten right in front of her eyes - and on her own property.

Now many in the neighborhood believe that dog is behind other cat deaths and want animal control to intervene.

It was a pet owner's worse nightmare.

"My window is open, my cats are outside and I hear this commotion and I see two of my cats jump in my window," said Patti Talbot, whose kitten was killed.

She used this plastic fence to keep her kitten on her porch

Talbot said a few weeks ago, a pit bull came running into her front yard without a leash right to her 6-month-old kitten.

"Had her little paws on the window sill trying so hard to get in the house, and the dog just jumped up and snatched that cat right away from me. And I came running out, and I'm beating it and I'm screaming and I'm kicking it," Talbot told FOX40. 

"And I've got my hands in its mouth trying to get my baby out of its mouth and the dog would not let go. And the owner comes running down the street and says nothing, he doesn't even say I'm sorry."

Neighbors told FOX40 they believe this same dog has killed other cats in the area.

"[The pit bull is] not under the control of its owners," said Maggie Coulter who lives two doors down from Talbot. "It's gotten out in our neighborhood, this has been going on for at least a month. It's killed three cats that we know of."

FOX40 tried to speak to the dog’s owner but no one was home when we knocked on the door Friday afternoon.

 

But the city said the owners of that dog have been cooperating with them and they say that the killer pit bull is a therapy dog, and they'd like to avoid having to put it down.

"We have to make sure that we don't allow the emotions to make the charges against the dog more than what the evidence shows," said Jace Huggins, the City of Sacramento's Chief Animal Control Officer.

Evidence, Huggins said, only shows one cat was killed by that dog -- Talbot's kitten. Owners of the other two cats did not file reports against that dog with the city.

Still, Huggins said the city is declaring the dog as a dangerous animal, which means there are new rules the owner has to follow in order to keep him.

"They have to build a kennel, they have to have a secure fence, they have strict lease and muzzle requirements when the dog is out and on a leash," Huggins said.

If the dog gets out again, the city said it'll be forced to euthanize the dog.

Talbot warns the dog will kill again.

"This is not a pet, this is a killing machine who loves the taste of blood," Talbot said.

 

(Fox40 - Nov 11, 2016)