Two dogs seized by Auckland Council after eight cats killed in Glen Innes

• Auckland Council has seized two dogs after eight cats were killed in Glen Innes.
• Vet Elena Bryant lost four cats and expressed relief at the dogs’ capture.
• The council is investigating the incident and deciding on potential outcomes for the owners.

A pair of dogs have been seized by Auckland Council after a spate of cat killings in an East Auckland neighbourhood.

Auckland vet Elena Bryant said four of her cats were mauled to death in Glen Innes by the dogs and news of their capture had come as “a relief”.

“I hadn’t been sleeping at night because I was worried they were out there roaming and would come back to kill off my remaining cats,” Bryant said.

Auckland Council animal management manager Elly Waitoa said she was pleased to confirm that both dogs involved in the recent dog attack had been impounded.

This was the result of “persistent investigation” by the council’s animal management team, Waitoa said.

Cats Pippi and Ritzy were killed by a pair of roaming dogs in Glen Innes.

In response to a question about whether the owners would be fined over the incident, the council said they were “still processing our investigation on this particular attack”.

On May 19, Bryant caught the roaming dogs on security camera footage picking up two of her cats with their mouths and shaking them.

The dogs had jumped the fence into her property and attacked the cats about 12.15pm.

She returned home to find Ritzy and Pippi dead with “severe crush wounds” to their abdomens and ripped belly muscles.

Bryant’s third cat, Harald, was found dead across the road after succumbing to dog bite wounds.

The footage matched a video from Bryant’s security camera captured in 2023 that showed a stocky tan dog and a black dog snooping around her property.

At that time, a dog was impounded and an investigation launched by the council into the killing of five cats – including Bryant’s cat Poltergeist.

After the recent 2025 attack, the council said the dog owners had been avoiding their efforts to contact them.

Waitoa said they had carried out property visits to numerous addresses to locate the dogs, however they were being “actively hidden”.

Bryant said although she was “deeply grateful” to the council for their latest efforts in tracking down the dogs, she wished they had impounded the dogs two and a half years ago.

The council had told Bryant the dogs would remain impounded until the completion of the investigation, when their fate would be decided.

Animal-lover Bryant has rescued multiple unwanted pets but said after the loss of four of her cats, she would be “giving it some breathing space” before further adoptions.

“My heart has to heal first,” she said.

The cats that died had been on her lap at every opportunity and used to come running up to greet her when she got home.

They had been “loving and outgoing” pets and were healthy animals with years of life ahead of them, she said.

Her house had seemed “very quiet” after their loss.

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