Several attacks on some local farm animals have some local residents worried. At least two animals were killed over the past couple of weeks, and five were viciously mauled. One local man says he is worried the next attack might be on a human being.

Local businessman and farmer Charles Atnip said that two separate mornings several lamas he had at a local farm were attacked and ravaged. “I had eight lamas in there originally,” Atnip said. “They killed one the first time they came, and they tore up three more. I put them in the barn, and they came back last Sunday night and attacked the rest of them. One was hung in a fence upside-down, another one had her face tore off and ear tore off, and another was killed.

Atnip said that of the survivors of the attacks, two lamas have been mauled extremely badly, and three are cut up fairly bad. The attacks are believed to have occurred around 2:00 a.m. and witnesses said they noticed at least three dogs in the area.

According to Atnip, he believes the attacks were committed by feral dogs in the area, running wild. He also worries that the attacks may escalate to something even more serious. “Any time a dog gets a taste of blood like that, they are going to come back and get some more. They killed the first one, then they waited a week and a day and come back and killed another one.”

“I want the people to know that we’ve got problems,” Atnip explained. He said that he has 33 other lamas at another location near the area, along with several horses and cattle. In addition, Adcock said he is worried an older person or child may be attacked by the dogs. “If we lost an older lady or a neighbor’s kid, that couldn’t fight the dogs off, I’d feel real bad.”

Atnip reported the last incident to the DeKalb Sheriff’s Department and two deputies responded to the scene. The DeKalb Animal Shelter was also notified about the attacks.

Director of the DeKalb Animal Shelter Emmaly Bennett said that the shelter and law enforcement have patrolled the area several times, but haven’t as yet come across the dogs in question. “We’ve had multiple officers go out, and we’ve been out, but there’s never any dogs on his property when we go there. Officers have also gone to neighbor’s homes in the area to look for the dogs, but none were found with blood on them and their owners reported that their dogs hadn’t been out.”

Because of the hour of the attacks and the lack of any confirmed identification of the animals, Bennett said it’s hard to find the problem. “The attacks are happening late at night, so we’re not sure what the dogs look like. At this point we’re kind of chasing ghost dogs, because we don’t know if they’re dogs, a coyote, or what. We don’t have anything to go off of.”

Bennett said that more patrols are being carried out in the area. “The only thing that we and the officers could come up with is to keep up a patrol of the area, and if we see animals out, speak to the owners and remind them that there is a leash law in Tennessee. You have to keep your animals on your property, and they can’t be roaming around.”

Bennett said that so far there hasn’t been a description of the dogs, and that the attacks may actually be a result of coyote attacks. She said she doesn’t think the public is in any danger from the attacks. “Honestly, from the pictures, and talking with law enforcement, it almost looks like a coyote attack. I know there are a lot of coyotes in the area. I wouldn’t be worried, but would be worried about your own animals. Until we figure out the problem, if they are dogs, and where they actually belong.”