Grief-stricken Welcome Bay residents are demanding answers after a vicious pack of roaming pit bull-type dogs killed two pet cats in a quiet cul-de-sac.
The dogs ripped apart Missy, a 1-year-old fluffy tortoiseshell owned by Andre and Carmen Bidois, and then fatally wounded Oscar, a 3-year-old pale ginger cat owned by Sandra Stuart and Kevin Gibbs.
Residents of Falcon Drive said Tauranga City Council should have done more to capture the dogs when they were cornered for about 45 minutes by onlookers, following the Saturday morning attack.
Instead all the dogs managed to bolt and it was only because the black dog was followed to a house at the bottom of Waitaha Rd that the council was able to impound it.
Miss Stuart said she cried all day after the news came through a few minutes after she arrived at work.
"Oscar was very special. He was a bright little button."
With so many children in the area, more should have been done to reassure residents it was safe to come out on to the street again, rather than leave it until the council opened on Monday morning.
One of the first residents alerted to the attacks was Claudia Kansley who heard a cat going "absolutely nuts" shortly after 8am. Looking out she saw a cat being mauled by three dogs.
"I could hear a woman screaming and her husband saying 'don't look'. It was just horrific."
Ms Kansley had the presence of mind to grab her camera and get pictures of the dogs.
At first she served as a conduit between residents texting her and the council's after-hours dog control contractor, a security company.
She said the security guard arrived shortly before 9am once residents had bailed up the dog on a vacant property near the top of Waitaha Rd.
Ms Kansley then drove around to Waitaha Rd and after watching the failed efforts of the guard, she phoned the security company and said they needed to send back-up.
She was told they were doing as much as they could.
"The council should be providing a safety net in situations like this. We pay our rates not to be fearful."
Miss Stuart said she had just driven off to work when her neighbour heard high-pitched, frenzied barking.
The woman rushed out, bravely shooed the dogs away, took off her dressing gown and wrapped Oscar in it before taking him to a vet.
"He was in a very bad way."
Miss Stuart said the council needed a proper dog control person working weekends.
"Dogs don't say, 'it's the weekend, I must behave myself'. Having a dog control section is about having them out with all guns blazing."
Mrs Bidois said their two children were still crying. Mr Bidois could not understand why the guard did not get out the pole and noose and capture the dogs much sooner, once two of the dogs started eating meat thrown to them.
Once the dogs had dispersed, it would be difficult to find them again. Mr Bidois was disappointed at the lack of feedback from the council in the aftermath of the attacks.
Council animal services team leader Brent Lincoln said the guard had been trained in dog handling and held a warrant issued by the council.
He supported the guard's actions in trying to gain the confidence of the dogs by giving them meat and then trying to slip a leash around their necks.
The noose pole frightened off roaming dogs.
"It is notoriously difficult to catch roaming dogs that don't want to be caught."
The dog ranger responsible for Welcome Bay would be looking at photos of the other dogs taken by the guard to see if he could identify them.
The investigation into the cat deaths and a review would look at whether council dog handlers should have been called into the situation on Saturday.
If the other dogs were unable to be tracked down, then the council could put out dog traps in the area.
-By John Cousins of the Bay of Plenty Times
