'Cats are being killed by loose dogs in our neighbourhood'

Residents of two Leeds suburbs have called for the owner of two dogs blamed for the deaths of pets and wildlife to be prosecuted.

A black Labrador and a brown cross-breed are believed to be responsible for killing several cats and a fox in the Meanwood and Moortown areas after escaping from their garden.

The dogs' owner told the BBC a friend had been leaving the outside gate of his house unlocked, but said he was unaware of the attacks.

Leeds City Council said it was aware of the community's concerns regarding the "out-of-control dogs" but would not comment further due to "ongoing legal action".

Alex Hinton said his cat Papaya was mauled to death by the dogs on 3 August near his home in Meanwood.

The 34-year-old said: "I am usually fairly stoic, but I did shed a few tears because we put a lot of love into looking after these animals.

"When that gets taken away from you it feels painful.

"I spoke to a neighbour and he had been aware of these dogs for a while.

"And there was actually a neighbour of ours a couple of streets over who lost a cat a couple of years ago to these dogs."

The doctor and his fiancée now keep their other cat indoors in fear of her being attacked.

He said: "There's every chance that a child could be out and the dogs take an interest in the child and something terrible happens.

"That would be just completely unconscionable given that there has been an opportunity to try to get control of this before it escalates."

Carol Ward said her pet Pumbaa was pinned down by the same dogs in her back garden in Moortown on 1 July.

She said: "I chased after them and they were already on him. The brown dog had him down on the ground and the small, black Lab was standing behind watching.

"I just shouted as I ran over and thank goodness they legged it back down my drive."

Pumbaa suffered a puncture wound to his abdomen, which later became infected, but he survived.

The 55-year-old teaching assistant reported the attack to the police who said she needed to contact the council's dog warden service instead.

She said the owner should be prosecuted and that she was considering legal action to recover the £2,000 she paid for Pumbaa's treatment.

The dogs' attacks have been recorded on CCTV and doorbell cameras by various residents and circulated using local social media groups to warn others when they are running loose.

A spokesperson for Leeds City Council said: "The council's dog warden service is aware of concerns within the community regarding out-of-control dogs and we have been working with partners to reach a resolution.

"However, as this is the subject of ongoing legal action, it would not be appropriate for us to comment further at this stage."

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