Witnessing a Helpless Kitten Being Killed By Neighborhood Dogs

by Mary F
(North Carolina, USA)

This is NOT a subject I enjoy writing about but it needs to be addressed and hopefully some little cat or kitten will live as a result of human awareness.

I live deep in the woods of North Carolina, USA where there are only 4 neighbors and we ALL have pets.

One lady has 3 dogs who are friendly toward children and have visited my yard many times looking for attention as their owner is rarely home. (Sad, But true)

There is an elderly couple (goat farmers)across the hillside from me who UNFORTUNATLY have a VAST number of cats roaming their property, most of which are un-fixed, un-vaccinated and never medically treated when ill. I have offered my assistance in getting these cats fixed at low cost or even FREE but they have refused my help saying " those are their cats who people have dropped and they will take care of them without any assistance. However, I see new kittens venturing out of their property from time to time telling me their numbers are growing at a rapid rate. (SHAMEFUL).

Then there is a fella down the road who has a cute little Dachsund who lives indoors and is allowed out to potty and then under his owners supervision is taken back inside. (Wonderful)

Then there is me and my 2 grand daughters (ages 15 and 10) who own 15 cats (ALL RESCUES) and ALL INDOOR ONLY CATS who are spoiled and cared for like the princes and princesses that they are.
They are NEVER allowed outside EVER!!!!!
Then I have 5 outdoor strays/ferals that I regularly feed and provide care for.
I have worked for Animal Rescues, Shelters, Veterinarians and even attended school for Vet Tech certification so I can say that I have unfortunatly seen about all there is to see in the animal rescue world but some things just NEVER get easier!

Yesterday a sweet little tuxedo kitten (about 6 months old) ventured into our yard from the hillside.
My grand daughters fell in love with this little guy who was as loving and playful as he could be. They spent the afternoon sitting out in the grass holding this sweet little guy and giving him much needed love and attention that I am sure his little homeless life had not seen before. They named him "Mackenzie".

Today, my grand daughters and myself returned home from town after running errands and as we approached our driveway, I noticed two of the neighbors dogs at the end of the road leading up to the Goat Farmers property.

The dogs appeared to be digging at the ground but as I got closer in my car I knew something wasn't right. The dogs actually appeared to be cornering something in the grass. I caught a brief glimpse of something black out of the corner of my eye and immediatly my stomach turned over as I knew this was bad news.

I caught myself yelling Oh God noooooo, as I jammed my car into park and jumped out and ran toward the dogs who was barking and growling in the weeds.
As I approached I saw a poor helpless kitten fighting for it's life at the jaws of two large dogs who was determined to kill it.
I ran into the midst of what was happening and screamed at the dogs to GET AWAY and they ran back to their property.
It made me ill to look down and see little "Mackenzie" laying there in the gravel fighting for his life and trying to raise his little head to try to escape but was un-able.

As I reached down to lift him and see how badly he was hurt, little Mackenzie drew in one last breath and blew out a large amount of blood from his mouth and he was gone! His neck was broken.
I looked back and saw my poor grand daughters sitting in the car weeping and screaming loudly at what they had witnessed.

At that moment the lady who owned the dogs yelled down after hearing me yelling at the dogs saying " What happened"?
I yelled back saying " Your dogs was down here killing a helpless kitten. Her ONLY REPLY WAS : I'M Sorry!!!!!
She then yelled somthing out and I said " what did you say?
She said " Oh I was calling my daughter to get the dogs in the yard"
I called back to say to her " Dont bother, the damage is done and the kitten is now dead because your dogs are not in their yard or under your control. This woman Never so much as came down to offer her help or to see what her dogs had done.

She went back in the house, back to her daily duties without so much as a second thought to the poor kitten who was killed due to HER lack of proper supervision of her dogs.
Don't get me wrong. I am an animal lover. I love cats as well as DOGS and own one myself but this kind of lack of responsibility sickens me.

I ask myself, Why do people own animals that they dont monitor or provide proper care for under state laws?
How can someone know that a innocent animal died a cruel death because their pets was un-supervised and have a clear conscience?

I am constantly writing articles and spreading the word about the importance of keeping your pets indoors and when outdoors, then make sure they are monitored properly and kept safe but this falls on deaf ears sometimes.

I have witnessed alot of animals dying in my life and never is it easy to see or forget but a death such as we witnessed today is something that not only breaks my heart but sickens me inside. It is something that you never quite erase from your memory. And having children viewing this is horrible.

So I am writting this tonight to once again plead to ALL animal owners all over the world.

1. Take responsibility of your pets.
2. Keep them in your sight or in safe areas where they are safe from
animals that are allowed to roam freely to mame and kill without
any supervision from their owners.
3. Never underestimate the good nature of an animal just because it
has not shown aggression toward your pets or children in the
past. BE alert and on guard for the UN-EXPECTED.

These simple things might save the untimely death of another helpless little animal or maybe even a surprise attack on your own children.
Don't get me wrong, I don't blame the dogs for what happened. These dogs was allowed to run free from their property for a few days and was not fed properly by their owner and they was hungry.
They responded to this little kitten as alot of un-cared for dogs would have and it is sad but it happens more times than we care to admit.
So please, for the sake of your own pets and helpless strays out there, Be responsible and alert and try to make sure this terrible thing does not happen to an animal or a child in your neighborhood.

Rest in Peace Little Mackenzie

Mary In NC

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