A Pennsylvania woman is in legal trouble after cops say her dogs are responsible for killing numerous animals, including at least two-dozen deer.
Media reports indicate the owner is Mirian Priebe-Florimon. She spoke to one news agency, telling reporters that her two dogs accused of taking out animals in the area have been put down. She said she made the decision after one of them fatally mauled a local cat.
According to police, the dogs have been on a rampage for some time. Last year saw the first killings of part of a herd at a local deer farm. Cassandra Book, who is related to the owners of the Garth Book deer farm, said “there was blood all over the fence.” She claimed that if you visited a local raceway you would see fawns that were ripped open, and multiple does with their necks broken.
The dogs in question were a mix of breeds, including husky. Cassandra Book says the now-euthanized dogs killed 26 deer on the farm in Sugarloaf. Among them were seven does and three breeding bucks.
The dogs’ reign of terror went beyond deer and livestock; neighborhood pets have also been killed. Area resident John Zola says his cat was attacked and killed by one of the dogs on July 18. Zola says he was walking his property with his granddaughter when they saw the two dogs coming around a corner and sneaking up on his sleeping cat. The dogs “flipped it up in the air” and then killed it before running off.
Police records indicate Priebe-Florimon did not take steps to confine her dogs even after multiple attacks, which is why she is charged with six misdemeanors. Not only did she not confine them, but reports indicate the two dogs were not even wearing muzzles when they mauled and killed Zola’s cat.
State law mandates that owners of “dangerous” dogs are required to keep the dogs muzzled or on a leash any time they are not in a secure enclosure.
Priebe-Florimon told media she was sorry her dogs had killed other people’s animals, and was surprised because, she said, they had never been aggressive.
Garth Book farm lost deer, but it also lost income. The killed deer represented 25 percent of the herd, and Cassandra Book said it will take years to recoup that financial loss.
