Warning: Video contains graphic images
PLEASANT VALLEY, Mo. (WDAF) — Surveillance video captured a Missouri man striking his neighbor’s dog with a machete in his yard Saturday.
Pleasant Valley police believe the neighbor was within his rights since the dog was on his property and had been attacking his pet pig, but they say the incident is still under investigation.
The owners of the pit bull, named Joe, didn’t want to give their names, but wanted to share their side of the story with WDAF.
“It was terrifying,” the woman said. “Having somebody wield a machete at your dog as you’re trying to grab the dog away from what it’s attacking, that’s terrifying, especially considering I could’ve been hit.”
The pig’s owner, Paul Decker, stands by his use of the machete.
“What if it was a child? What if it was one of my grandkids?” Decker said. “It’s the second time that this dog [jumped] the fence and just [tore] this pig up.”
Police confirmed a previous attack by the pit bull. Officers said a similar thing happened at least a year ago.
This time, officers responded and cited Joe’s owners for having a “dangerous dog” and for animal at-large since Joe went onto Decker’s property.
“It doesn’t sound good, and it’s really not,” the woman said. “It’s horrible. We’re sorry that Joe did it in the first place both times.”
Tori Fugate with KC Pet Project said pet owners have to be vigilant. She said there are humane tethers that owners can buy to keep pets confined to a backyard.
“You just never know if an animal is going to get distracted and run off,” Fugate said. “If they’re in a community, we don’t want animals to get hit by cars, things like that, or run into other people’s yards, run through the neighborhoods, because then you have a lost pet on your hands.”