Llamas killed by pack of dogs

WARNING: The text and video for this story are graphic in nature.

KELSO, Wash. - A pack of rowdy dogs are attacking and killing other animals and fearful residents are trying to figure out how to deal with the problem before someone gets hurt.

In the last two weeks, the dogs have killed two llamas, attacked several more and have even gone after a horse in the Rose Valley neighborhood, located near Kelso.

Susan Calhoun said she shot at the pack of dogs, which consists of a Pit Bull, German Shepherd mix and two Golden Retrievers, after she saw them kill her neighbor's baby llama (pictured below).

"If I didn't have a pistol, I don't think I would have been able to stop them from what they were doing," she said. "And if I would have tried to interfere, they probably would have turned on me."

"When they get out and running and chasing livestock in a pack, they become different animals," said Noel McRae, who also lost a llama.

McRae has moved his llamas closer to home after they were attacked last week. Three survived with scratches, but another did not, and McRae said the takedown was gruesome.

"His rear end was just really shredded and then after he was killed, they ate part of his chest," he said. "We've become very attached to them, so it's a painful process to go through, especially when you think about how he died."

Neighbors believe the dogs are not strays because they seem well fed and cared for. The Golden Retrievers appear to have been locked up since word got out about the attacks, but the Pit Bull and German Shepherd are still roaming free.

What worries Calhoun is the dogs' lack of fear.

"I don't think they have respect for human life and if they see a kid out on the road waiting for the bus or someone jogging (who knows what could happen?)," she said.

That is why Calhoun is now carrying a loaded pistol in her pocket.

"I wouldn't want to go outside without it," she said. "If it's my animal or the dog, then you have to do what you have to do to protect your animals."

Dog owners can be fined if their dogs are not kept on their property and county law states that people can shoot the animals if they feel threatened.