Name: Jennifer
Victim: Pet
Location: On my deck then into my yard, Florida
Year of attack: 2022

Tell us about the attack

For the record we have video cameras and all this was caught on them.

On July 14, 2022 I checked all my cameras then went to get a shower. 27 minutes later I went outside to take my son to an appointment and found my 13-year-old cat dead in our front yard.

I took her inside then checked the camera feed and saw we had new people moving in next door and that it was one of their two pit bulls that they had let out of their house that then came running over to our house, ran up on our deck, chased my cat off the deck, then pooped on our deck, then ran into the front yard, saw my cat again and chased her down, mauled and killed her in her own yard. The pit bull owners pulled the pit off her but it was too late. She raised her head. They ignored her and left with the pit bull, then proceeded to let him run loose 7 more minutes.

How has your life changed as a result of the attack?
I called and reported this to Animal Control. They came out but haven’t fined the people or done anything about this happening. They don’t even call me back when I reach out to them. For me and my family it’s been a huge loss because the cat was with us so many years. She was like family, so we’re all grieving and none of us can understand why nothing has been done especially since it all was caught on our cameras and all the footage, almost 10 minutes worth, was given to Animal Control along with pictures of our cat after she was killed.

Legal Consequences
None as yet although it’s still being investigated but I have very little confidence in anything being done as per how Animal Control people seem to be treating it. I didn’t have any issue with pit bulls prior to this as long as they were kept up by their owners but now that this has happened I do, and I want nothing to do with any other pits. It’s terrifying what our poor cat endured and the people deny it even happened. I’m heartbroken about this.

We need more and better laws for these dangerous breeds of dogs. There should be stiffer consequences for the owners when they allow these dogs to run unattended, unleashed or if they just cannot control them and if they attack anyone or their pets.

What would you like people to know as a result of your attack?
This dog came through our fence after being let out and running from its own yard into ours. It attacked and killed our cat on our property and it has devastated my family.
Animal Control took four days to come out. The people weren’t fined and are denying it happened at all and state the pit bull is just a 6 month old puppy that wouldn’t hurt anything or anyone. Although they are also on the video, it seems like there will likely be no consequences to the pit bull or the owners. Keep your smaller animals in the house and do not trust that they are safe. Otherwise this happens and these people were new and just moving in. It was out of the blue and so unexpected, just be wary.