Cops search for two dogs after attack

The Highlands County Sheriff's Office and the Department of Animal Control are continuing to search the Leisure Lakes area for two dogs that reportedly snatched a small Yorkshire terrier away from its owner and killed it Monday morning.

Lt. Gus Garcia said the incident happened around 10:45 a.m. when a woman was out walking her Yorkie.

Then, the two dogs came up and snatched the leashed animal from its owner's grasp, according to Garcia.

"The leash caused a little, what's described in the report, as a laceration (to the owner's hand)," Garcia said, but added that no medical treatment was required.

The small Yorkie was carried two houses away by the other two dogs, according to Garcia. It died as a result of the attack.

Sheriff's deputies and officers with the local animal control have been out in the Leisure Lakes area for two days searching for the dogs responsible. A notice has been sent as to what breed, exactly, they're supposed to be looking for.

Garcia said the dogs were initially described by the woman as being pit bulls.

After having a chance to get over the shock of the attack and thinking again about it, the Yorkie owner's description changed, according to Darryl Scott, director of animal control.

"They think they might have been boxers," he said. "Basically, we don't know what kind of dogs they're looking for."

Scott described the dogs as having a brownish, reddish color. They could possibly be a pit bull, boxer or cur dog.

"We really don't know what we're looking for, other than we're looking for two big dogs in the area," he said.

Over the past two days, officers have found dogs that fit the description, but they were locked up in pens. If they came across loose dogs, they were not the right color, according to Scott.

He added that there is no reason to believe the dogs in question are rabid animals.

"Regrettably, this is not an uncommon thing, for a large dog to kill a small dog," Scott said.

Pending the outcome of the search, criminal or civil charges could be brought against the dogs' owners.

"You are responsible for the action of your dogs," Scott said.

Anyone with information should contact the sheriff's office at 402-7200 or animal control at 655-6475.