Families in a local neighborhood say they’re being terrorized by a pack of dogs.
People in the Del Mar area, near Menger Elementary School and Incarnate Word Academy, have reported several attacks on their pets. That community is asking for help with what they’ve deemed the “Del Mar Dog Pack.”
“Every dog likes chase. They like to run, they like to chase. But now they’ve tasted blood and now they’re killing,” Barbara Baker said.
Two weeks ago, Melody Mauch’s cat Cece went missing. Hours later, she found him severely injured and mangled in her neighbor’s yard. He was treated by veterinarians, but died a week later.
“It’s just awful. I’ve been crying for like two weeks. He was part of my life. He was a huge part of my life,” Mauch said.
In graphic home surveillance video obtained by another neighborhood pet owner, you can see a cat scrambling to get away from multiple dogs, and then brutally attacked. That woman struggled to rescue her cat, but he died minutes later, before she could ever get him to the vet.
Mike Gillis, Director of Animal Care Services, said he is working to catch the animals responsible for these attacks.
“We have set three traps in the neighborhood on two different residents’ properties and I check them three times a day,” Gillis said.
Mauch said she’s concerned a student walking home from school could be next.
“It could be a small child. We don’t know what sets them off. They’re on the hunt now, and they have a taste for blood,” Mauch said.
It has not been determined where the pack of dogs is coming from and whether or not they are strays.
Corpus Christi Animal Care Services will meet with concerned residents and District 2 councilman Ben Molina Thursday, August 23 at 3 p.m. to voice their concerns. That facility is located at 2626 Holly Rd.
As of Tuesday afternoon, no dogs have been trapped and no one has been cited for the loose dogs.
