Neighbors: Dogs accused of killing more than a dozen cats still roaming Jacksonville neighborhood

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Questions continue to surround the pit bull terriers that are accused of killing more than a dozen cats in Murray Hill.

Jacksonville police said in a report that the dogs were seized Friday.

But Action News Jax spoke with a man who said he has seen them since.

On Tuesday afternoon, the owners told Action News Jax the dogs were being put down.

He didn't want to be identified, but we spoke with a man who said he saw the dogs -- still running free -- hours later.

“These are killer, bad dogs,” he said.

The man who lives at the home on Dellwood Avenue said he heard the dogs rustling in the leaves in his front yard, and when he came outside, he said a dog chased him up his driveway Tuesday evening.

He said he even threw the recycling bin in the dog’s way and slammed his gate shut to get away.

Blocks away, Tiffany Starnes, a pit bull owner, said the dogs chased her on a run about a year ago.

“They started coming at me, so I hightailed it,” Starnes said.

On Wednesday, no one came to the door at the owner’s house.

Action News Jax also dropped by Animal Care and Protective Services to confirm the dogs are off the street.

“We just want to know if the dogs were ever given back to the owners, because people said they saw the same dangerous dogs in the neighborhood [Tuesday] night,” Action News Jax reporter Russell Colburn asked an animal control officer.

“I can’t speak to anything,” the officer replied. “You have to go to Tia Ford, media relations. All of our media relations have to go through her.”

On Wednesday, Ford said in an email, “There is no information available at this time as the investigation is ongoing.”

That’s not the explanation many Murray Hill neighbors were hoping for.

“If these dogs would’ve confronted a child or someone elderly, they’d be dead right now,” a neighbor said.

Cox Media Group