HOUSTON – Two neighbors in Clear Lake are reminiscing about the beloved pets they lost -- both killed within hours on the same day in vicious attacks by other dogs.
Diane Fletcher lost her dog Baxter -- a boxer mix she rescued when he was just 6 weeks old.
"I heard these just terrible, terrible sounds," said Fletcher, recalling the day of the attack. "It was blood curdling."
The BARC animal shelter said the two dogs that attacked Baxter were pit bull terriers. They attacked the dog while Fletcher's husband was walking him on a leash in the Clear Lake neighborhood of Middlebrook. Baxter's injuries were so severe he had to be put to sleep on Christmas Eve.
"We had to put him down the next morning," Fletcher said through tears. "He was only 2 years old. He was just a baby."
Just over three hours before the same two dogs had attacked and killed Bella -- a 6-year-old Yorkshire terrier. The 6-pound dog was killed instantly by the much larger dogs. She was in the front yard with her owner -- Diane Meyer's husband.
"I heard all this noise and barking, I followed and he was screaming, 'She's dead. They've killed my dog,'" Meyer said. "They immediately went for Bella."
Neighbors tell us they've seen more stray and unleashed dogs roaming their streets recently and they're asking for more assistance from animal control.
The Fletchers rescued a new dog just days after Baxter's death. They said the hole left by his loss was too big not to fill. But for them -- there will never be another Baxter.
"It's just been awful," Diane Fletcher said. "I just don't want it to happen to anybody else."
Neither of the pit bulls had ID tags and no one ever claimed them. One of the dogs was put down by animal control just days after the attacks.
The other dog was put down Friday after a waiting period to find an owner ended.
A BARC spokesperson told Channel 2 that while they assist on these types of calls, it is ultimately a civil matter between owners.