Wild dogs attack sheep

The South Hubbard Road woman says a child or elderly person could be hurt.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF Writer
COITSVILLE -- A tarp in Melody Wagner's South Hubbard Road covers the carcass of one of the family's sheep that was mauled by what she describes as wild dogs.
The dogs had gotten into a barn on the property between 6 and 8 p.m. Tuesday and either chased or dragged out one of the sheep, a pregnant ewe, and killed it for food. Three other sheep were attacked and injured, and Wagner isn't sure they can be saved.
"My husband went out to feed the animals, and as soon as he opened the barn, he heard barking," she said. "He came back to get a gun."
Wagner's husband, Tom Patterson, shot one of the dogs, but they fled the area.
Patterson said he saw two dogs in the barn, but it wasn't until they fled that he saw the dead sheep in the yard.
The couple found tracks from five or six dogs leading to their barn. They keep a small door open, allowing the sheep to move in and out.
Wagner said she's seen packs of dogs in the area for at least a year. Many people use the area to drop off dogs they no longer want, and the animals eventually join to hunt for food, she theorized.
Another concern
She worries that with colder weather and less food available for the dogs to forage, they may resort to attacking people.
"I don't want to see some kid end up getting hurt or an elderly person who's out walking," Wagner said.
The couple called township police, who filled out a report, documenting the event, and photographed the carcass. Township Trustee Walter Avdey said the attack was referred to the Mahoning County dog warden.
A deputy from the warden's office came to Wagner's house Wednesday and provided her with forms to fill out to seek compensation from the county for the loss of her livestock.
"They basically told us to shoot them [the dogs]; it's our property," Wagner said.
She said she's called the dog warden's office about the dogs previously to no avail. She hopes that she'll hear from a hunter who will want to track the dogs and get rid of them.
Mike Fox, dog warden, said that the office always comes out when it receives a report of wild or stray dogs to try to find the dog and/or its owner. But he said he's unaware of an ongoing problem of wild dogs in the Hubbard Road area specifically.
Wagner and Patterson started raising sheep about two years ago. They had 13 sheep, eight of them breeding ewes, and one breeding ram before the dog attack. Three feeder lambs in a separate pen weren't harmed.
"I figured this would happen to somebody," Wagner said.