Wild Animal Attacks, Kills At Least 3 Dogs In Hesperia

HESPERIA (CBSLA.com) — A wild animal has attacked and killed at least three dogs in Hesperia.

Resident Rena Ventimiglia recently discovered her two dogs, Frankie and Spit, mangled in her backyard on Hinton Street.

"Frankie's collar was ripped off, and there were chunks of meat and fur," she said. "Blood all over the backyard. I just lose it…I don't know what happened...the first thing I thought was someone poisoned my dogs."

Ventimiglia's husband, Brent, suspects a mountain lion was the culprit.

"When I got home and saw the damage that was done, there's no way that an animal that was much smaller than him was going to break his neck like that," Brent said.

"There's been a lot of sightings of mountain lions around this area, along with bobcats and coyotes, of course. We live in the desert, so," Ventimiglia said.

The couple's neighbor also lost a dog during the attack.

Animal control officers told the families that a bobcat most likely killed the dogs.

The couple said they made a mistake by leaving their dogs' food and water on the porch, which could have attracted the wild animal.