Canines Kill Calf, Cat

The Cannon County Sheriff's Department responded to two recent incidents of animals being killed by dogs.

Deputy Eric Moss was dispatch on May 26, 2010 to 2524 Porterfield Road, Readyville, in reference to a calf that was killed by a dog. He spoke with Dorothy Elrod, who stated that she came outside to go to the mailbox and there was a dog that looked like a boxer and it was standing over her son's calf. She stated that the dog looked black.

Moss then spoke with Elrod's son, John Dorris, of 8330 North Milton Rd., Milton, who stated his mother called him and said that there was a dog standing over his calf. Dorris stated that when he arrived he found his calf on the ground.

Moss observed that the calf appeared to have been bitten in several places. The calf was having trouble breathing and was unable to get on its feet. Deputy Randy Neal took pictures of the calf for evidence.

Elrod stated she thought the dog belonged to her neighbor down the road. The deputies went to 2067 Porterfield Rd. and spoke with Randy Durham, who stated his dog had been with him all day. Durham's dog did not match the description given by Elrod. Durham stated that his daughter, Shannon Futral, 247 Futral Durham Lane, lived behind him and her dog looked like the one the deputies were seeking and that she allowed her dog to run free.

Deputy Neal went to Futral's home but was unable to make contact with anyone. He was able to take pictures of the dog that matched Elrod's description. The deputies returned to Elrod's residence, showed her the pictures, and she confirmed it was the dog she saw standing over the calf. The calf died while they were there.

On May 27, Futral's husband contacted Deputy Reed Bryson to find out who owned the calf that had been killed so that he could make restitution. Bryson advised him of the information and Futral also stated that he was getting rid of the dog.

• Deputy Randy Neal was dispatched to 819 Simpson Rd., Bradyville, on May 31 for a report of dogs at large. He was informed by Mike Patterson that some dogs had killed the family's cat. Patterson stated he has seen dogs running in the neighborhood for the last two to three months, and that they appear to be wild dogs. He added he did not think they were the neighbor's dogs because he had seen them all over the neighborhood.