CUTLER BAY, Fla. – Two large dogs seen on video mauling a calico cat to death in a Cutler Bay backyard have been deemed “aggressive” by Miami-Dade Animal Services — but not “dangerous,” raising questions about what those labels actually mean.
The incident happened on fenced private property where a calico cat named Chu-Chu was nursing her newborn kittens.
The cat’s owners say the dogs, Luke and Kenzo, dug under the fence to enter the yard.
“They broke into our fenced backyard, noticed Chu-Chu that was defending her kittens and killed Chu-Chu,” said Melyssa Sueiro, the cat’s owner.
The attack was caught on home surveillance footage, which shows one dog grabbing the cat and dragging her from her hiding spot. A second dog soon joins, and together, they kill her, according to Sueiro.
“I was right on the other side of the window setting the table and all of a sudden these 2 dogs came charging in and I didn’t know where they came from,” said Agnes Sueiro, co-owner of Chu-Chu.
The family says they raised Chu-Chu for the last six years since birth and described her as sweet and gentle.
“I started screaming and screaming and the next thing I knew Chu-Chu ran off into the bushes and I was screaming like I had never screamed before,” Agnes Sueiro said.
Even after retrieving Chu-Chu’s body, could be seen waving a pole at the still-roaming dogs to get them off her property.
“I never would have thought that these dogs would come in our yard,” Agnes Sueiro said.
The Sueiro family submitted extensive documentation to animal control — video, pictures, written statements and more— in an effort to have the dogs labeled as dangerous.
“We filed the complaint. We filed it for dangerous dog designation, and they said that these dogs were aggressive, not dangerous,” Melyssa Sueiro said.
According to the county’s criteria, a dog may be labeled “aggressive” if it kills a domestic animal without provocation while off the owner’s property. A “dangerous” label may apply only if a dog commits such acts more than once.
Animal control ultimately ruled that there was sufficient cause to deem Luke and Kenzo as aggressive.
Local 10 News visited the home of Osmani Silva, who owns Luke and said he was watching Kenzo for a friend when the incident occurred.
“I got this paperwork that says the dogs were deemed aggressive,” said Local 10’s Animal Advocate Jacey Birch.
“That’s what the paper says but the dogs are not aggressive,” Silva responded.
When asked if the dogs killed the cat, Silva replied, “Yes. I mean dogs kill cats, cats kill mouse, birds kill mouse, so it’s just nature.”
Silva told Local 10 that he paid county citations and tried to apologize.
“I tried to apologize but the person was really — she didn’t want to get my apologies,” he said.
One year after Chu-Chu’s death, the family says nothing has changed.
“Are you shocked that nothing happened?” Birch asked Agnes Sueiro.
“Yes. Yeah. But it almost seemed like people didn’t think it was that big of a deal,” she replied.
Melyssa Sueiro says she’s not done fighting.
“We still feel that justice was not served for Chu-Chu,” she said. “If they’re not deemed dangerous, how is that helping the neighbor that’s next door to them? They have no idea that these dogs killed a cat!”
According to Miami-Dade Animal Services, a dog may be designated as aggressive if it severely injures or kills a domestic animal without provocation and while off the owner’s property. A dog may only be declared dangerous if it kills or severely injures a domestic animal more than once.
