54 chickens and about 25 rabbits were killed by three dogs early Friday morning. In addition to those rabbits and chickens one pig will have to be put down. And now the Reedley High School students are trying to save another pig.
Reedley High School junior Rambob Ramos and his classmate spent the day cleaning out the wounds on Penelope the pig. "[Her] knee is cut really deep," Ramos said. [Her] ham, the thigh part and his eye and the ear [were also injured]."
Ramos owns most of the animals on the campus farm. In addition to the dead livestock the cages here were destroyed. Chicken wire was chewed through. And in some cases the frames of the cages were smashed in by the dogs.
Ron Sa teaches the animal sciences class. He never imagined dogs doing this much damage. He's upset over the loss of livestock, but mostly he says because his students' hard work is lost. "They take care of them and to come out here this morning and see all their hard work for the last three months... gone," he said. "It devastated a lot of them."
Scattered feathers and broken eggs still sit in some cages. Reedley High Principal, Rodney Cisneros, says the school is trying to get insurance money to cover the more than $3,000 in lost livestock and damaged equipment. He told Action News the vicious attack is also difficult on his staff.
"They facilitate this whole operation," Cisneros said. "They motivate the kids, they inspire the kids. So when something like this happens it hurts the adults, too."
As for Ramos, he even built this hen house that was severely damaged by the pack of dogs. He raises and breeds the animals to show at events like the Big Fresno Fair.
"I save up my money, I pay for my daily feed costs," Ramos said. "Then I decided to do a breeding project and I bought that pig for $400 and by now it's been about $600 dollars that I've spent into her."
Now he hopes the surviving animals can help him earn enough to keep his work going. Students were not in danger. Police have not been able to track down the dogs' owners. We're told one dog was put down and the other two ran off.
The surviving livestock is being kept in a locked trailer in case the dogs return.
DONATION INFORMATION:
One our partners, Reedley High School FFA, suffered a tremendous loss Friday morning when a pack of dogs broke into the campus farm. In total, the students lost 79 animals and the farm habitats were torn apart. In support of the students, Fresno Chaffee Zoo is spearheading a campaign to help raise funds for Reedley High School FFA to rebuild their program. Donations can be made at our ticket booth, wishing well at our information kiosk, or by mail at Reedley High School FFA Fundraiser C/O Fresno Chaffee Zoo, 894 W. Belmont, Fresno 93728.
