Owner says dog killed her kitten by breaking its neck at pet show
Top News | Moon Lam 20 Apr 2021
A five-month-old kitten was killed by a dog that lunged at its neck at the Hong Kong Pet Show in Wan Chai, its owner said.
The owner reported to police, accusing the dog's owners of leaving after the attack. Police said they are investigating the case as cruelty to animals but no arrests have been made.
Posting to a cat lovers' Facebook group, owner Gloria Leung, who was also an exhibition staff, said she carried her pet "Roll Roll" inside a bag at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
"A man and a woman brought four Shiba Inu dogs in two strollers," Leung said. "One of their dogs stuffed its head into my bag, biting and swinging my cat." The cat died when its neck was broken, she added.
Leung said the dog owners had told her their dogs "always bite cats."
She criticized the dog owners for not putting muzzles on the Shiba Inus - a breed of hunting dog from Japan - and leaving immediately after the accident.
Leung urged online users to provide information that may assist with the investigation. "The cat died terribly. Please help!" she wrote.
Online users who said they were the dog owners apologized on a Facebook page called Fong Gut Shiba Inu yesterday. They did not reveal their names and said no one wanted the accident to happen.
They rejected the accusation that they left after the incident, saying it happened so suddenly and quickly that they looked for a first-aid station inside the venue and also tried to find the cat owner.
"We only wanted to go to the first-aid station to learn about the cat's condition. We had no intention to leave right after the accident," they said. "The surveillance cameras can prove that."
They also denied saying their dogs often bite cats. They said they sent an e-mail to exhibit organizer Pet Show and exhibitors for surveillance footage.
They promised to cooperate with the police investigation and hoped to apologize to the cat owner in person.
The two suspended their Facebook page, saying many online users dug out information about their family and friends and even threatened them.
Leung did not accept their explanation. "The accident happened at about 3.30pm, but you left half an hour later," Leung wrote on Facebook. "My colleagues in the exhibition booth also heard what you said very clearly. Please stop lying."
Pet Show said it "immediately deployed staff, vets and security guards to assist the victims after the incident."
moon.lam@singtaonewscorp.com
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