Durban - Chatsworth police are investigating an incident where a man allegedly shot dead his neighbour’s Labrador after the dog allegedly killed another neighbour’s cat on Thursday.
Neisha Chetty said her Labrador Mighty Quinn was shot in the abdomen after it allegedly fought with a neighbour’s cat in her backyard.
According to neighbours, Quinn allegedly lunged over the fence and grabbed the cat, which was asleep on the fence. Children who own the cat saw this and screamed at Quinn. A neighbour thought the child was being attacked and allegedly fired a warning shot, which struck Quinn.
Chetty said she heard a commotion in her backyard, a scream and while she was rushing there, a bang went off.
“Quinn did not go into the neighbour’s yard. My dog cannot jump up. He has a leg injury. What if the bullets had hit someone? There was no reason to shoot my dog. Quinn stumbled to my back door where he died,” Chetty said.
As several people flooded social media with comments in the wake of the incident, community leaders pleaded for calm. The Kharwastan Community Policing Forum urged the public to allow the SAPS to deal with the matter and allow them the space to investigate.
The cat owner did not want to be named nor comment, saying it was now a police matter. Quinn was taken to a local vet on Thursday night.
Police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said a 21-year-old suspect was arrested. His firearm was also confiscated.