A Carriere woman said she is afraid for the safety of her family after she said two pit bulls attacked and killed her livestock.
Julie Gonzales awoke the morning of July 4, to find five of her goats dead.
They had been bitten at the throat.
At first, Gonzales said she was unsure of what had killed her goats.
On the morning of July 5, Gonzales’ oldest son said he heard a dog whining and saw a red pit bull circling the chickens.
He threw a rope at the dog in an attempt to run him off and that’s when a second black pit bull appeared, Gonzales said.
Gonzales received a call from her son to tell her he knew what killed the goats.
Gonzales and her family participate team roping events and own roping steers and horses.
On July 24, Gonzales said she had three roping steers in the same pen as the goats.
“My son saw a black dog by one of the steers and when he ran up the hill the dog ran off,” Gonzales said.
One of Gonzales’ 450-pound steers was dead; its jaw, head, nose and face were ripped apart.
Gonzales said she filed a report with the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department on July 24 and began warning her neighbors.
Gonzales said several of her neighbors have had trouble with the dogs. In two instances, two women were trapped in their car and a woman’s small dog was attacked.
Gonzales put up a deer camera in the area where the goats and cow were killed.
On August 3, Gonzales said she woke her son to feed the horses at the barn.
When he went to fee them, he observed one of the horses running up and down the fence lines.
Gonzales said her son and husband took pictures of the dogs running the horse that morning.
More pictures were obtained from the deer cam and Gonzales said, judging from the time stamp on the deer cam, the dogs ran the horse for three hours.
“The horse was exhausted and he had nips on the nose and legs. I guess the dogs figured if they couldn’t take him down, they would just run him,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales said she contacted law enforcement once again.
“The authorities were nice and informative,” Gonzales said. “The officer told me there was nothing he could do unless he saw the dogs on my property.”
Gonzales said the officer told her she could file a report at the justice court against the owner for a violation of the leash law.
Gonzales said, after speaking with neighbors, some spoke to the person they believe to be the owner.
The owner told neighbors the dogs do not get out of the house, Gonzales said.
Gonzales said she owns horses that are worth $40,000 to $50,000 and she is scared to go out of town for fear the dogs might get a horse in the stall.
“I’m scared for my children, I have a 24, 15 and 10-year old. If these dogs can take down a 400 pound cow, what can they do to a person,” Gonzales said. “They don’t appear malnourished, they have the taste for blood.”
Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Shane Tucker said the department has received a report regarding the attacks.
Tucker said the deputy was given the address of the alleged owner and attempted to contact the owner, but no one was home.
Once the authorities ascertain the proper owner of the dogs, Gonzales can sign an affidavit for leash law violation and can sue for them loss of her animals, Tucker said.