Marauding Dogs Killing Cats in Keysville

KEYSVILLE – For over a year a pair of dogs has been regularly killing cats in Keysville and damaging cars and property.

The pair of dogs severely damaged at least two cars while attempting to get to cats hiding in the engine compartments.

Attempts to discover the dogs’ owner(s) have been unsuccessful. The attacks occur before daylight. In spite of security camera photos the dogs have not been seen during the day, leading the victims to conclude the dogs do not live in Keysville or are confined during the day.

All of the reported attacks occurred on Farrar and Church Streets.

Kathy Olson is devastated over the killing of her cat. Her cat was old and had a paralyzed limb.   She thought it would be safe for her to leave her cat outside to get some fresh night air. The cat had a nice place on her front porch.

On the same day Joan Burnette’s car was damaged and her kitten killed.  

June Hamlett had her kittens in a kennel on her carport. She heard the dogs barking and a lot of noise. They managed to get their paws in the kennel and hurt one of the kittens so badly that it died shortly after.  

Another resident heard the dogs barking. She brought her cat inside before they could get to it. Her camera showed them on her front porch. 

Danny and Leslie McCarty live on Church Street. On August 5, 2021, on one of these dogs’ rampages, they did severe damage to their car trying to get to a cat. They also have the dogs on video. On this same date the dogs killed a cat at Joan Burnette’s home. They have video of them that night as well.  

Bonnie Vazquez, who did much of the legwork for this article, said, “Everyone that I spoke to is very upset about these dogs wreaking havoc in their neighborhood. They are worried that if they will go to these extremes to kill a cat that they could start going after children next.

“So far, all of the encounters with these dogs have been in the early morning hours. No one has seen them during the daylight.

 “It is our hope that your article will help find these dogs and put an end to their rampages. We all agree that the owner may not even be aware that their dogs are wreaking such havoc.” 

Anyone who can identify the owner of these dogs can call Charlotte County Animal Control at 542-5141 or the Southside Messenger at 736-0152 and we will relay the information.