Gunshot ends dogs' rampage

A cat and about a dozen swans and ducks were mauled to death by two dogs which went on a killing rampage in Greenmeadows last night.
The dogs' killing spree was ended just after midnight by a bullet from a police marksman's rifle as the pair were swimming across a pond at Anderson Park in pursuit of more nesting and sleeping birds.
The shot killed one of the dogs and caused the other to panic and scramble through reeds and bushes into the darkness.
It was later tracked and caught.
Senior Sergeant Mal Lochrie of Napier said police were first alerted to the dogs at 10.40pm after a taxi driver passing through Harris Street, Greenmeadows, saw the pair attacking something on the grass verge.
It turned out to be a cat which had been mauled and killed. There was no sign of the dogs when police arrived. The taxi driver said one of the dogs was a tan and beige-coloured mongrel and described its companion as a large, black breed. Twenty minutes after midnight the second call came in.
This time a resident near Anderson Park had heard a commotion coming from one of the ponds.
Police officers found the carcases of several swans and ducks floating in the water.
They also saw the dogs in action - "chomping" on ducks. A dog ranger from the Napier City Council animal control section was called and it was decided to shoot the dogs.
Although one of the pair managed to escape, the ranger told police he was sure he recognised it and it was found a short time later at an address in Atherfold Crescent, about half a kilometre from the park.
He took possession of the animal and today it was in the city pound.
The dog was to be put down today and charges were likely to be laid against the owner.
Animal Control manager Alan East said the incident was under investigation.
The latest attack came after two attacks on people were reported in Napier last month - one against a five-year-old girl.
There was also a spate of dog attacks on lambs on rural properties on the Heretaunga Plains last year.
Earlier in the year, a dog mauled and killed a cat which wandered onto a Hastings property.
Napier City Council Parks and Reserves manager Tony Billing said attacks on birds in the park happened "from time to time" and added there had been a history of two dogs causing problems in the Tamatea-Greenmeadows area recently. * Are our dog control laws strong enough? Have your say by emailing the editor on editor@hbtoday.co.nz