To the editor:

May 11 was a sad day for our family. One of our chihuahuas, Peanut, was killed by a pit bull running loose.

Peanut was in our back yard on our deck when the pit bull came into the yard and attacked her. My wife heard a commotion and Peanut screaming. When she ran downstairs, Peanut was gone. A neighbor saw the pit bull running with what appeared to be our dog in its jaws.

He followed it at a distance down the block and through a back yard to Elizabeth Court where the owner of the pit bull was out with his dog. By the time our neighbor arrived, Peanut’s body had mysteriously disappeared. The owner denied knowledge of our dog’s whereabouts. He did admit that he had let his dog out and then gone back into his house, leaving the dog unattended. Neighbors next to the owner told us the pit bull is let out alone frequently. The owner denied his dog killed Peanut and taunted my wife to find the body.

This dog has now hunted and killed in our neighborhood, coming right up to our back door. If he is loose just one more time, what is to keep him from coming back and next time hurting a child? A designation as a “dangerous dog” is not enough. It has to be one strike for these killer dogs; after all, our dog doesn’t get a second chance. Wake up, City Commission, before a child is hurt. You can do better.

Thomas S. Fellers,

Lawrence