One of the dogs involved in the killing of eight goats on
Tuesday morning was part pit bull, Hollister Animal Control
Director Julie Carreiro confirmed Thursday.
Hollister – One of the dogs involved in the killing of eight goats on Tuesday morning was part pit bull, Hollister Animal Control Director Julie Carreiro confirmed Thursday.
Dick Swank of Swank Farms told the Free Lance that the dogs were pit bulls, but Carreiro said Swank’s description was slightly inaccurate. One dog was a pit bull/spitz mix, and the other was a hound mix, she said.
“Everybody thinks they look like pit bulls … but they’re not,” she said.
Carreiro said she’s pursuing “a good lead” about the dogs’ owner, but she declined to offer more information about the dogs or the lead until her investigation is complete.
Swank has said one of the two dogs leapt into his goat pen, killing seven goats on the spot, and the other dog tried to attack Swank’s employees. The ranch foreman killed both dogs with a shotgun.
Seven more goats were seriously injured, Swank said, and one has died since.
Pit bulls have earned a reputation for aggressiveness and have at times been connected to human deaths or serious injuries. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, pit bulls were initially bred to participate in “baiting” in which dogs attack bulls, bears or other large animals.
“Pit bulls are now notorious for redirecting aggression from a dog to any person who attempts to break up a fight,” according to the ASPCA Web site. But the site also states that “a well-bred, well-socialized, and well-trained pit bull is one of the most delightful, intelligent, and gentle dogs imaginable” and notes that Helen Keller’s dog was a pit bull.
The dogs were not spayed or neutered, Carreiro said. But even if they are spayed or neutered, she said dogs still become aggressive when roaming in groups.
“If you had five dogs and all of them were neutered, all five of them would have chased the goats,” she said.
