Prairie Village Police say the owner of a dog that attacked and killed another dog earlier this month has come forward and is now cooperating with investigators.
Capt. Josh Putthoff, a spokesperson for Prairie Village Police, said the owners came forward after police posted an image of a group of people and their dogs on social media last week in connection with the incident.
The attack occurred on Sunday, Aug. 2, near 74th Street and Village Drive.
Eric Laudermilk, along with his seven-year-old daughter, was walking the family’s two dogs, including Sawyer, a three-pound Yorkshire terrier, when another off-leash dog attacked Sawyer, getting the smaller dog in its jaws.
Veterinarians later determined Sawyer suffered a bruised liver, a displaced kidney and a punctured lung, Laudermilk said, and died on Aug. 5.
Prairie Village Police now say the attacking dog was a five- to six-year-old Labrador mix. Putthoff confirmed the people in the image released by police were the same as the owners of the dog involved in the attack.
He said the owners have “fully cooperated with the investigation.”
No criminal charges have been filed, and Putthoff said the attacking dog has not been euthanized. He said the investigation will determine whether any citations, including for having the dog off-leash, need to be issued.
“Historically in these types of incidents, our animal control unit will analyze whether the dog should be deemed as a potentially dangerous dog, which carries multiple requirements by the owner to ensure the safety of the public,” Putthoff said in an emailed response to questions.
Many cities in Johnson County — including Fairway, Lenexa, Merriam, Mission, Overland Park, Prairie Village, Roeland Park and Shawnee — require domestic pets to be on a leash at all times, unless it is in the owner’s home or yard.
The rules for pets in Prairie Village go further, saying that dogs that are off their own property must remain leashed and harnessed or collared with both a rabies tag and city pet license tag on display.
The city also specifies that a dog walker must be able to physically control the dog in their care.
Laudermilk, the owner of Saywer, the dog killed in the attack, told the Post that Prairie Village Police had requested the veterinary records and bills related to Sawyer’s care after the attack.
Laudermilk said the owner of the attacking dog offered their phone number but that the family is “not quite ready to chat/meet.”
“It’s still pretty fresh,” Laudermilk said via text, “and our daughter [who witnessed the attack] is struggling with it.”
He added that the family’s other dog, a Bernadoodle, is “also struggling” with Sawyer’s absence, “not eating and miss[ing] his little friend dearly. I know it sounds silly, but it’s true.”
