Series of dog attacks in Yuma kills 19 farm animals

YUMA (AZFamily) — Yuma County’s farming and livestock community has recently faced several dog attacks around town, resulting in the deaths and injuries of farm animals, including 4-H animals, just days before the county fair.

The owners of the livestock that was attacked now want the dog owners to take responsibility.

Dairy Goat farmer Caitlynn Mann recounts the aftermath of two separate dog attacks on her property in March, which claimed the lives of 19 farm animals.

Among the losses were animals owned by local 4-H children and nine of her milking goats.

The most recent attack was on Saturday at her neighbor’s property. A pack of dogs attacked and killed three 4-H animals that were set to be shown at the county fair on Tuesday.

After Saturday’s attack, the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office’s animal control unit intervened and was able to locate and put down the dogs.

Mann said the loss has been devastating and a severe setback for her goat milking business, which she started about five years ago.

“I lost my good moms that I’m almost sure were pregnant so I was going to have some milk so I can do some cheese again. Now I just have to work a little bit harder, reevaluate,” she said.

In her over 30 years of living on her property, she’s never encountered an issue like this. She believes there’s a growing problem with dog owners abandoning their pets around town.

“They cant afford their dogs, they cant afford to properly turn them over to the humane society so they just dump them,” she said.

Just days after the second attack on March 15th, another incident occurred 14 miles across town.

Wolfdogs went on a killing spree, attacking farm animals and pets in this neighborhood.

Security cameras from a nearby home recorded the dogs, allowing YCSO to seize them from their owners.

The wolf dogs are currently being held at a local shelter awaiting a court decision.

Residents in that area said the wolf dogs have been wreaking havoc in the neighborhood for years.

Mann said it was upsetting to realize she’s not the only farmer affected by these types of attacks.

“These are people who raise and sell their animals. This is what they do and to see the devastation and to hear their story that it had happened two years prior, it’s surreal,” she said.

She’s now invested in additional security cameras across her animal pens and just bought a new livestock guardian dog named Grim Reaper. Although he’s only a puppy, Mann said he will be trained to protect her goats from any future attacks.

“We figured it would probably be smart to be safer than sorry, he’s going to be the protector,” she said.

Mann is hoping investigators with YCSO livestock and animal control will find the owners of the dogs responsible for the attacks at her farm.

She says that, altogether, the loss of 19 animals amounts to about $30,000 in lost revenue.

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