Two of three pit bulls are euthanized

Wednesday, April 11, 2001 | 11:17 a.m.

Two pit bulls that entered a Las Vegas home and killed a family pet were euthanized Tuesday. A third dog involved in the attack could be put to sleep as early as today, animal control officials said.

Thelma Yandric walked in to her house in the 3900 block of El Parque Avenue on April 2 to find her 2-year-old terrier-dachshund mix, "Hooch" dead on the living room floor. Her neighbors' dogs stood nearby.

Yandric later discovered a large hole the dogs apparently had dug to enter under the fence separating the properties. The dogs apparently entered Yandric's home through a dog door.

Yandric said she is also facing about $3,000 in damage to her home as a result of the attack. Blood, urine and feces, which the pit bulls had tracked throughout the house, had to be professionally removed from the floors, and two carpets were ruined, Yandric said. The dogs also climbed on her bed and soiled her blankets, Yandric said.

Tammy Cain, the owner of two of the dogs, relinquished claim to them soon after the attack. Just who is responsible for the third dog, a female pit bull named Trouble, is in dispute, said Lt. Jeff Dufrene of the Las Vegas Department of Detention and Enforcement. Cain was cited for failing to control her dogs and not having them properly licensed, Dufrene said.

Cain has refused comment on the incident, and Yandric said she has not received an apology from her neighbor.

Yandric promptly left the house after she saw the pit bulls inside. If Yandric had confronted the dogs or attempted to rescue her own pet the results could have been tragic, Dufrene said.

Animal control officers pick up about 20 to 30 stray pit bulls each week, Dufrene said.

Pit bulls are widely considered a dangerous breed because they are often bred for fighting, said Mary Herro, president of the foundation that operates the Leid Animal Shelter. Still, each pit bull that enters the shelter is evaluated individually, she said.

"Sometimes you have a good dog with a bad owner, and in some cases you have a good owner with a dog that's been bred to be aggressive," Herro said.