News

Actions

Suffolk Animal Control investigating vicious dog attack on cat

Posted at 9:47 PM, Aug 15, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-15 23:12:52-04

SUFFOLK, Va. - Suffolk Animal Control is investigating an attack of a cat by four dogs, according to a city spokeswoman.

Gloria Merritt says her 14-year-old cat, Simon, was asleep in the backyard of her home on Sunday.

She lives along Colonial Drive in the Nansemond Shores neighborhood.

Around 10:00 AM, she says four small dogs sped through a small opening in her fence that is in the process of getting redone.

She was asleep at the time. She says by the time her boyfriend realized something was wrong, Simon was covered in blood.

"It was so much blood here you really couldn`t see where it was coming from," she says. "When he comes home, he's never going to be the same. I'm a widow, I'm on a fixed income, and I've about had it."

Merritt says the dogs tried to pull Simon's legs off, their teeth went through some of his bones, including his spine, and he has several punctures throughout his body.

If Simon makes it home from the hospital, she says he may never walk again and will need constant attention.

"I know it was an accident, I don't blame anybody," she says. "I just think people need to be more careful out here to make sure their animals are secure, it could have just as easily been a child."

News 3 stopped by the dog owner's home. A woman answered the door and said she did not want to comment.

Afterwards, Merritt says the dog owners accepted responsibility for what happened and said they would help with Simon's medical bills. She says she is already up to about $3,000.

"I don't want to see any of that happen to any child, because I think Simon is my child, and it's almost killing me now cause he's not here."