JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville neighborhood is on edge following a series of dog attacks that neighbors said left two family pets dead and a third with a severe injury.
The attacks have happened in an area off Baymeadows Road, just west of Old Kings Road.
Home security video from Saturday evening shows two dogs breaking through a backyard gate while the homeowner’s family cat was sitting in a chair and then grabbing the 14-year-old cat named Max. The cat died within seconds in his backyard.
“He didn’t have a chance,” said Rett Wicker, Max’s owner.
The same night, according to neighbors, the same two dogs killed a 2-year-old cat named Demeko.
“He was dragged to the neighbor’s yard that discovered him, and he saw the two dogs on his Ring video,” said Pacita Bristow, one of Demeko’s owners.
Several days before those nighttime attacks, a cat named Spike was attacked in broad daylight in his yard. He survived with a badly broken leg after his owner shot at the dogs.
“These dogs are not showing any mercy,” said Greg McPherson, Spike’s owner.
McPherson said he spent thousands of dollars for emergency room care to save Spike’s leg and he and his neighbors are fed up with the attacks.
“I just want it to quit. People don’t have to feel like this,” McPherson said.
Payton-Lilly Bristow, one of Demeko’s owners, added: “I want justice for our animals. I want justice for our neighborhood. We’re supposed to be safe.”
Pet owners in the neighborhood said they are worried the dogs will someday attack a child.
“What if it had been one of my kids? I got a 4-year-old. I‘ve got a 1-year-old and I got another one on the way,” Wicker said. “What if it was mom out here, not able to defend herself from these two dogs?”
While it’s unclear who owns the dogs and where they come from, it appears one of the dogs wears a collar.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and animal control are now investigating the attacks.