Community assistance vital

MANAWATU District animal control officer, Lesley Butler, said it was a community effort to successfully track down the two dogs responsible for the deaths of numerous cats in the southern part of Feilding over the past few weeks.

“It was vital they were caught otherwise there would have been no closure for the cat owners or the community at large,” she said.

Ms Butler was appreciative of the assistance animal control officers received from members of the Nassus Animal Shelter and cat owners as they scoured the streets in the early hours of the morning to locate the dogs. Totally Vets had also helped in the case.

After news broke of the attacks, council officers eventually received reports on the deaths of 18 cats in the area, with most suffering wounds consistent with dog bites.

Ms Butler said the door-knocking approach undertaken by council indicated how serious the attacks were taken and she was grateful the dogs’ owner, who had been deeply shocked at what happened, came forward.

“The strong message out of this is that dog owners should make sure they know where their dog is at all times, as it’s easy to become complacent with pets.”

She also suggested that cat owners who lose their pets to possible attacks should notify council, even if they had not heard or seen anything, so details on location and times could be noted.

The two dogs have been euthanised.