KILLEEN, Texas — Sarah Hardy had been calling Killeen Animal Services for months after she noticed the dogs in her neighbor's yard digging under the fence. The family tried to secure the fence by covering the holes with cinder blocks, but on Aug. 11, Hardy said the dogs dug a hole just big enough to allow them to bite her blue pitbull, Creed, and pull his front leg through the fence were the dogs chewed off his skin on the other side.
"I see it's my dog pinned against the aluminum fence with his arms on the other side," Hardy said. "The neighbor comes out and says, 'What is the issue,' as I yell, 'They're killing my dog!'" Creed died due to infection.
Hardy's experience can provide guidelines for others in the same situation.
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The city of Killeen investigated the incident and gave her neighbor 12 citations for failure to meet city codes for sterilization, and microchipping and rabies vaccination on each of four dogs. The city did not remove the dogs.
"Nothing has changed," Hardy said. "The dogs are still here. There are still holes."
Killeen spokeswoman Hilary Shine told 6 News in a statement, "There was no finding of aggressive dogs as the dogs were not at large, they did not attack a person and there were no previous reports for aggressive behavior."
Hardy and neighbor, Gail Bott, said that others called about the dogs getting out and presenting a danger to the neighborhood multiple times. However, when Hardy spoke to a city prosecutor, she said she was told there was no record of those calls.
"There has to be an actual report to where a person goes into animal control and does a sworn statement and has it notarized," Hardy said. "That way they have it documented and they have it on file. When we spoke to them before, Officer Moore did say there have been several 'reports'. I'm guessing those were not reports, they were just call-ins."
Hardy is advising other people in Killeen to make sworn statements at Killeen Animal Services if they want the city to deal with dangerous dogs.
While City Animal Services officers can also make such reports, the city is limited due to staffing.
After Hardy complained to the city about the lack of action, she told 6 News, City Prosecutor Martha Samuel told Hardy the incident needed to be re-investigated.
"Two days after the incident with my dog, two officers came out and just took some pictures of the backyard, the other yard and they were here for about ten minutes," Hardy said. "The persecutor herself said that was not thorough, so she wanted officer Gilbert to go out and do a thorough investigation the evening we went to the prosecutor."
6 News later found out from the city of Killeen Animal Services is in the middle of trying to fill important staff positions. Shine confirmed in an email the city of Killeen is missing the Animals Services Manager, the Animal Services Supervisor, and two of five animal control officers.
Hardy said Killeen homeowners should not have to go through what she has to get a proper investigation into a dangerous situation.
"You shouldn't have to go to a prosecutor to get answers to see if someone is going to do a thorough investigation. You shouldn't have to call the news. You should just call animal control and they should do what they are supposed to do," Hardy said.
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