MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis couple was trying to do the right thing when they found two dogs running around in their neighborhood Saturday, only to discover they were potentially dangerous.
“They’re really sweet around us but they’re animals and you don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Beth Bartholomew, who found the dogs with her husband on Normandy Road. “Actually we do know. When they get around other animals, they’ve killed them.”
Despite posting flyers and pictures on social media, no one came to claim the animals.
“They were well-taken care of, they had collars but no identification,” Bartholomew said. “So I thought they probably had owners looking for them.”
Then Sunday night, Bartholomew says one of the dogs broke through their fence, killing one of their neighbor’s chickens and leaving another one badly hurt. They also believe the dogs killed another neighbor’s cat.
They feared their own pets could be next.
“We have a 17 year old dog, Duke who's frail and we're afraid that if they get in contact with him, he'll be killed,” Bartholomew said. “We have a cat (and worry about the) same thing.”
Monday, the couple said they called Memphis Animal Services and were told this was a priority case and someone would come by to pick up the dogs.
But no one did.
“My husband called about it this morning,” Bartholomew said. “We were told that the case had been closed because it wasn't a priority even though they know that these dogs have killed (pets) in our neighborhood. So clearly they're a danger to other animals.”
It was only after ABC24 went to investigate at MAS on Tuesday that the dogs were finally picked up. Interim MAS Director Mary Claire Borys said that on Monday, the animal control officer they sent had to be redirected.
“(He was sent) to a priority call from (Memphis Police) that took precedent because it was an active situation,” Borys said.
As for closing the case?
“There was human error on the officer’s part in terms of how it was listed in the database,” Borys said. “So we are grateful to (the Bartholomews) for reaching back out to us.”
Bartholomew is just glad someone is looking after the dogs.
“I understand that Memphis Animal Services is overworked and underfunded,” she said. “They're legally responsible to take care of this problem and they need to do their jobs.”
Borys took over as interim director at MAS in early July of 2024. She says they only have 15 animal control officers at their disposal but added she is working to try and expand that.