An investigation into who owned the dogs that killed eight goats
at Swank Farms last week has turned up no suspects, leaving
Hollister Animal Control officials to believe the canines might
have been abandoned.
Hollister – An investigation into who owned the dogs that killed eight goats at Swank Farms last week has turned up no suspects, leaving Hollister Animal Control officials to believe the canines might have been abandoned.
Hollister Animal Control Director Julie Carreiro said she has interviewed neighbors of the farm and found the dogs had been spotted before the Sept. 25 attack near the shooting range on Highway 25.
“People saw the dogs out there, so I’m starting to think they were dumped on Highway 25,” Carreiro said.
Carreiro said a woman has contacted animal control about her missing dog, similar to the hound mix that was involved in the attack. But the woman’s dog was neutered, Carreiro said, while the one involved in the attack was not.
“I don’t think it’s the same dog but she’s bringing in a picture,” Carreiro said.
The hound mix dog lunged at people coming to the rescue of the goats. The other dog involved in the attack was a pit bull/spitz mix, Carreiro said.
Dick Swank, of Swank Farms, has said one of the two dogs leapt into his goat pen, killing seven goats on the spot, and the other tried to attack his employees. The ranch foreman killed both dogs with a shotgun. Seven more goats were seriously injured, Swank said, on of which later died.
Vivian Kennedy, who runs the Hollister-based animal rescue organization All Creatures Great and Small, said she would not be surprised if the dogs were abandoned on the highway. She said it happens often.
One way to solve the problem of abandoned animals is to start a spaying program, she added.
“It’s really sad that they haven’t found out who the owners of those dogs are,” Kennedy said.
