Dog Attack Victims Crowdsource Dangerous Dog Sightings
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PLANO (CBSDFW.COM) - The victims of a pair of stray dogs in Plano are hoping a new Facebook neighborhood watch of sorts will be the backup that animal control officers need to catch the elusive dogs.
This block along Fall Wheat Drive was home to the latest sighting just Friday morning of the dogs dubbed, "Bonnie and Clyde." They got away again, but now some of the victims are building a virtual posse to help with the hunt.
After eluding capture for months people started calling the Australian Cattle Dog and its companion, "Bonnie and Clyde." Since they attacked his 12-year-old son, Dray Pavey has been after the dogs. That's why he started a Facebook group to organize efforts.
"If we get enough people together, you could organize some sort of, okay let's spend the day driving around, and we'll go see if we can find these dogs," Pavey said.
Other victims have reached out to Pavey even posting their own bite photos on the page. For now the primary goal is to raise awareness and encourage everyone to call 911 if they see the dogs.
"I can't have an officer on every street, but you can have a person on every street looking," Plano Animal Services Director Jamey Cantrell said.
Since his department began urging people to call 911 instead of the animal services number, Cantrell says dispatch has been able to get information to his officers faster and cut down on response times. However he cautions against the wrong kind of help from the public.
"Watching for them, and that's where the people come in and help us, but once we get them located, then it's a matter of stepping back and letting us do our job," Cantrell said.
He urges anyone who sees the dogs to keep their distance after calling in the sighting because the dogs are so cautious, chasing them won't work.
"You couldn't put everyone in Plano arm in arm and walk from one side of Plano to the other. They're going to just keep running away from you," Cantrell said.
Pavey agrees that for now calling in sightings is the best thing anyone who wants to help can do.
"Nobody needs to be walking around Plano with a gun looking for a dog to shoot. That's not a good idea," Pavey said.
Animal services tells us they have had problems in the past with people only reporting sightings on social media instead of calling 911. They urge you to do both, and say they are encouraged by the spike in reports they've received in the last couple of weeks.
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