NORTH CAROLINA – One Leland woman is claiming she has been scared to go out in her yard because of a neighbor’s pit bull.
On Tuesday, Mary Diemer stated that pit bull attacked and killed one of her cats.
“I remember thinking, ‘Oh, my God. The cat’s dying, the cat’s dying. I can’t stop this. I can’t do anything,’” Diemer stated. “The dog was just shaking the cat.”
She said she fought the dog off with a plastic gardening shovel, but her cat Lupe had already been killed.
“I laid the cat down on the ground, and I could see her back legs. Her back was broken,” Diemer stated.
She went on to explain that she called for help, and Brunswick County Animal Control responded.
“I asked them why they couldn’t remove the dog,” Diemer stated.”They said they can only issue a citation today.”
A Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson confirmed animal control issued the dog’s owners two citations: one for running at large and one for the fog being a public nuisance. The spokesperson went on to say that the dog was not aggressive toward people, and the owner was cooperative.
Diemer explained that she’s called animal control before after seeing the pit bull jump the four-foot fence between yards.
Her neighbor Rick West claims he has seen the dog jump his fence as well.
“He’s running over here, and it upsets my cats in the house, so I have to shoo him back,” West stated. “It can’t be jumping fences and killing cats or other small animals. What’s it going to kill next? A small child?”
That is a huge concern Diemer, a grandparent of a six-year-old boy, has.
“I’m afraid for him to be out here in this yard by himself,” Diemer stated.
The spokesperson said animal control officers are still investigating exactly what happened. They said investigators must first determine if the dog is ‘dangerous’. If the dog is found to be dangerous and certain steps aren’t taken by the owners to keep the dog from any more dangerous encounters, then authorities can petition the court for ownership of the dog. At that point, it would be up to a judge to decide on just what should happen next.
