California Patch Site Helps Capture Cat-Killing Canine

Virginia Harrison of Orinda, CA, lost her cat, Oliver, to a pair of marauding neighborhood dogs on Feb. 16 and had just about given up hope that they would be found until a sharp-eyed neighbor - and a Patch story on her loss - brought one of the perpetrators to justice.

"I wanted to let you know that it looks like Animal Control caught the Lab-mix dog that killed our cat, Oliver, Feb. 16," she wrote late Monday night. "We had thought that the trail had run cold because we had not received any comments on your story about the dogs... " But then, a Patch reader remembered the story and called her and Animal Control when she saw the two dogs out running around in the area.

Animal Control was able to catch one of the dogs, and Virginia was able to identify it as the one that killed Oliver. They were not able to catch a terrier-mix Virginia said was also involved, but she said "they do seem to have a lead on its location."

"I will be hearing more about the case in the near future, and I will let you know what happens," Virginia said. "But I did want to let you know right away that your Patch posting seems to have done the trick. Thank you so much. I feel sad for the dog, but it was vital to keep it from killing other people's cats."

Thanks for letting us know, Virginia. Sorry about Oliver, who sounded like a great cat. Perhaps people will be able to draw a lesson about pet ownership from his demise.

And thanks to your neighbor... for reading us and for calling you!