Black dog sought after 2 Crossroads dogs attacked, one fatally

(Update: Comments by owners of attacked dogs)

Two attacks on dogs, one fatal, in recent weeks in the Crossroads subdivision west of Sisters have Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies asking the public for help finding the black dog believed to have attacked them, as well as its owner.

Around 6:20 p.m. Tuesday, a deputy was dispatched to a report of a dog attack that had occurred around 4:30 p.m. in the area of Bluegrass Loop and Crater Way, sheriff’s Sgt. William Bailey said.

An investigation found that a family living in the area was preparing to leave their home and was going to tether their 12-year-old female Chihuahua/beagle, named Lexi , outside, but she escaped and ran toward the intersection, Bailey said.

The family said it saw Lexi being attacked by an all-black, medium-sized mixed-breed dog wearing a red/multicolored collar.

The family scared off the black dog and retrieved Lexi , who had received significant injuries, Bailey said. They took their dog to a Sisters-area veterinarian, where she had to be euthanized due to her injuries.

” She was one of my kids, ” Cindy Clem, Lexi’s owner, said Friday. ” She was a member of our family. The house doesn’t feel like a home right now. ”

The sheriff’s office also responded to a dog attack on March 4 near the same intersection, Bailey said. It was reported that an all-black dog had attacked and injured another dog being walked by its owner.

A deputy responded to the area, but the attacking dog was never located, Bailey said. In that incident, the dog that was attacked received non-life-threatening injuries.

” Right now, this dog is only attacking small dogs, it seems, without provocation and very aggressively, ” Clem said. ” There are small children here, too. We want to protect our neighborhood. ”

The owners of the two dogs also said the attacks occurred around the same time of day, between 4:30 and 4:45 p.m.

” The safety of those in our community is a top priority, and we would like to locate the black dog and its owner, ” Bailey said in a news release.

Anyone with information about either incident is asked to call non-emergency dispatch at 541-693-6911 and speak with a deputy.