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Roaming dogs terrifying St. Cloud neighborhood
Osceola County Animal Services confirms to FOX 35 News that three people were attacked by a pack of dogs at Chisolm Park in St. Cloud.
ST. CLOUD, Fla. - Three people are recovering from injuries after a group of five dogs attacked them Saturday morning, Osceola Animal Services says.
The attack happened around 10 a.m. on Saturday near a neighborhood by Chisholm Park.
Two of the five dogs were killed after they were shot by people living in the area, and a third was taken into Animal Services' custody. The third dog will undergo a mandatory 10-day quarantine, officials said.
The fourth dog was also shot, but officials were unable to capture it, and there is a possible fifth dog also still walking around, leaving those two dogs unaccounted for.
"It's just something you don't want to have to encounter," said Efrain Fernandez, a father who lives in the area.
"You can't really relax if you know that there are [these] dogs wandering around," said Eve Song, who also lives nearby and frequents the park.
Osceola Animal Services said the dogs may have been acting on what is known as "pack mentality."
Wildlife expert Kenny Baez warns that this mentality can be very dangerous for dogs.
Baez said, "It's a hierarchy; they have an alpha, and then everybody kind of falls into that pecking order. It's usually based on size and attitude. They fight for dominance in the in the pack."
He said this "follow the alpha" mentality may have motivated the dogs.
"One dog will start attacking, and the rest of the dogs that are in the pack will do the same," he said.
As for the two dogs still unaccounted for, Fernandez said, "They've got to find them soon before something else tragic happens."
Animal Services has confirmed to FOX35 that these dogs' owners have surrendered them.