‘Gruesome:’ La Pine resident presses charges against neighbor after losing cherished dog in attack by three dogs

(Update: adding video, comment from victim dog owner, witness, statement from DCSO)

La Pine, Ore. (KTVZ) --  A deadly dog attack took place recently in the driveway of a La Pine family returning home from a birthday celebration, resulting in the death of their beloved dog, Genie.

“She was basically mutilated by the dogs within minutes, and our dog was protecting our 2-year-old son at the time,” Sonya Bucierka said Friday.

On Tuesday, August 27th, Bucierka, who had been out celebrating her 27th birthday with her family, returned home and soon found that her small dog had been attacked, and despite her life-saving efforts tragically died from its wounds due to an attack by a neighbor's three dogs.

 "I started CPR, because I'm a nurse, and that's what I'm trained to do. And, you know, I wasn't able to bring her back," Bucierka said.

The attack happened on her property as she and her husband, Matt, were unloading groceries from the car.

Witness Troy Baine said, "I saw three dogs that looked like they had maybe a squirrel, or possibly a coyote. But when the big dog threw the other dog in the air, I realized - this is not a coyote, this is actually somebody's dog. And all I could do was yell at them, to get them to stop. But it was too late."

Baine said it took less than three minutes for the three dogs to kill Genie.  

"It was a vicious attack. It was a murder, basically," he said.

Deschutes County sheriff's Sergeant Jason Wall told NewsChannel 21 in a statement, "There have been calls for service at the residence that housed the wolf hybrid dog. The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office has responded to those calls for service and investigated thoroughly. As a result of these investigations, it was determined the reporting parties/victims were not willing victims, and did not want any citations issued."

Wall continued, "to be clear, the dogs in question, only one was a wolf hybrid, the other was a malamute. Both dogs were humanely euthanized by their owner after the attack on the small dog owned by Mrs. Bucierka."

NewsChannel 21 asked Bucierka, "Do you think justice has been served, since they've been euthanized?"

"Absolutely not," she replied, "because there were three dogs at the time of the attack, and the one dog that is still alive is the one that pretty much did the entire attack."

Baine said, "I would say he at least weighs 85 to 100 pounds, somewhere in there. His head is about this high to me," he said, pointing to his abdomen.

After the death of her dog, Sonya posted in a La Pine Community Facebook page.

“I've had a bunch of people from La Pine reach out to me, stating that their animals and livestock have also been killed. So this isn't the first time," she said.

"I have had people messaging me that they want this address of the dogs, because they're afraid to send their kids to school and have them walk to the bus," Bucierka added. "I've had day care people who have day cares around here concerned about the location of the dog, because they they're threatened, they're nervous."

Matthew Draxton spoke to another neighbor who declined an on-camera interview, but shared that her dog and livestock were attacked by the same wolf dogs previously.

 Currently, there is no statewide laws against wolf dog hybrids. According to the Oregon health Authority, "Wolf dog hybrids shall be considered wild animals and not dogs."  

Bucierka said, "There need to be more regulations around wolf dogs and their containment and, you know, just making sure the owners are taking care of them properly and making sure they have enough space, making sure they're not getting out of their enclosure. And I think, yeah, I just think more needs to be done about this."

"I'm confused why the one who did the most harm is the one that was saved," Bucierka said, referring to the dog that was not euthanized.

Baine said, “It's now got the taste of blood all around here. And it's, it's got to stop - next time It might be a child.”

"What I witnessed was the most gruesome thing I ever seen in my life," he added.

Bucierka and her husband shared with NewsChannel 21 they have pressed charges against their neighbor as of Monday.

We also reached out to the neighbor wolf dog owner, but could not reach him.