Hollister Police Animal Care and Services recently located and have taken custody of three dogs they think are responsible for a series of attacks on local cats, according to authorities.
On Aug. 13, police received a report of a dead cat in the area of West Street that had reportedly been attacked by a gray, female pit bull type of dog, Hollister Police said in a press release. Two of the dog’s puppies had also taken part in the attack.
Later that evening and in the days that followed, the Hollister Animal Shelter received more reports of cat attacks throughout Hollister that had resulted in death or serious injury to the animals, police said.
The responsible dogs in each reported cat attack appeared to match the description of those involved in the Aug. 13 incident, but authorities were not immediately able to locate the dogs that had attacked the cats.
In an effort to identify and locate the dogs, animal control officers patrolled the areas where the animals had been previously seen. Officers also shared a social media post through the animal shelter’s Facebook and Instagram pages to inform the public of the attacks and encourage residents to contact the shelter with any sightings of the offending dogs, authorities said.
On Aug. 28, officers followed up on a tip and located the dogs and their owner, police said. All three dogs are now in the care of the Hollister Animal Shelter.
The City of Hollister’s municipal code, section 6.08.010, prohibits animals running at large, the press release continues. The code states “a dog shall be deemed at large unless led or restrained by a leash not exceeding six feet in length attached to the dog’s collar or harness and actually held by a person,” says the press release.
Furthermore, municipal code section 6.13.020 states, in part, “Dangerous animal means any of the following: Any animal which, when unprovoked, inflicts injury on or kills a human being, or domestic animal,” says the press release.
