Vicious Dogs Will be Euthanized

The pair of dogs that killed a herd of sheep in Larkin Valley will be put down, county Animal Services officials announced Thursday.

The woman who owns the female dogs surrendered the American Staffordshire terrier and red healer to the county because she said she couldn’t contain the dogs, according to Todd Stosuy, supervising field officer for the agency.

The dogs were deemed “vicious animals” under county code after they were identified as the two dogs that killed five sheep and mortally injured two others in an Old Adobe Road pasture on Saturday. The "vicious animals" designation means the owner must secure the dogs inside cages that have cement floors, roofs and spring-loaded gates. 

“She decided it’s in the best interest of her and her neighbors to have the dogs put down,” said Stosuy. “I think (with) the level of prey-drive these dogs had and the number of the livestock in the area where she lives, she wouldn’t actually be able to contain them."

The rural neighborhood north of Watsonville where the woman lives is home to horse stables, pasture land and numerous livestock.

There also were allegations the dogs had killed other animals in the past, but those incidents had not been reported to Animal Services.

The dogs will be euthanized Thursday or Friday. Stosuy said it would be too much of a liability for the county to find new homes for the animals.

“These dogs are vicious, and we have this knowledge that they’ve attacked and killed livestock.”