Silent cat-killer dogs stalk South Auckland neighbourhood

Friday, 22 February 2019

A number of dog attacks have been happening near the Waiuku neighbourhood of Owens Rd.

A duo of dogs are suspected of silently stalking the streets of a South Auckland neighbourhood at night, mauling eight cats in three weeks, and leaving residents fearing for their feline companions.

Sharon Reader looked out her window on the morning of Saturday, February 16, to the sight of her cat, Jacks, dead on her back lawn.

'I was devastated. I opened my curtains and there he was,' she said.

Sharon Reader, 66, opened her window on February 16 to see her cat Jacks mauled to death.

Mauled and covered in 'slobber', Jacks is suspected of being one of the victims of a series of dog attacks that have been plaguing a small Waiuku neighbourhood.

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Accounts from neighbours and posts on social media confirm at least eight cats have been mauled to death near the small cul-de-sac of Owens Rd, since February 1.

Many cat owners have started bringing in their cats at night.

Reader, 66, lives alone and said Jacks, her one-eyed cat, was her closest friend.

'He was my companion, my mate. I miss him so much,' she said.

While many cat owners in the area share a similar story, some neighbours like Nicola Oldridge say their pets have simply disappeared.

'We've been putting out flyers and messages on Facebook.'

She says her cat Harry has been missing since February 5.

'It's so unlike him. We've met other people searching the street who are in a similar position. Some whose cats have been gone for four weeks.'

While many have been left without answers, witnesses say a pair dogs are to blame.

On Saturday, February 16, the same day Jacks was found dead, a few houses down the road, Mike Myer stuck his head out his window at 5.30am to see a tan dog grasping his cat between its teeth, hurtling it into the air.

He ran out of the house, scaring two dogs away, but only minutes later the same dogs killed another cat a few houses down the road.

The cat's owner who did not want to be named said the two dogs 'shredded' her cat from the legs down.

Myer says his cat survived it's attack but after three days, and $900 dollars in vet bills, it will be five weeks before it recovered.

And while the attack would leave any pet owner upset, Meyer says the behaviour of the dogs disturbed him for other reasons.

'They were very quiet,' he said.

Accounts from other cat owners in the neighbourhood say the same.

When the dogs attacked, they heard no barking, the dogs were eerily quiet.

Myer says he's seen this sort of behaviour before, he regularly travels to Africa photograph the African wild dog, a native species of the continent.

'They're extremely efficient killers.'

He says unlike domesticated breeds, wild dogs will stalk prey silently, working in teams.

'There's some similarity there.'

Residents say they fear for their own personal safety and are now bringing their cats inside at night.

Myer has built a temporary fence around his property to protect his other two cats.

Sarah Anderson Auckland Council's Manager of Animal Management says Auckland Council have received four complaints of dog attacks in Waiuku in the last four weeks.

'We have regular patrols in Waiuku. But as we do not know where the dogs are from no action has been taken yet.'

She says some dog owners are known to use collars that prevent barking.

'But dogs are prey animals and they hunt in many different ways. Not all dogs bark when they attack.'

Residents are asked to report dogs wandering the streets to (09) 301-0101.