COCOA, Fla. – A Brevard County woman will pay a penalty after Animal Services said two of her pit bull mixes got loose and killed a woman's cat.
The dogs were removed from the Circle Drive home in Cocoa, where the attack happened Monday.
The dogs' owner, Jennifer Housenga, said Tuesday while she was away from home for an hour Monday running errands, the dogs were somehow able to get out of her fenced backyard.
"Maybe someone opened my gate," Housenga said.
Authorities said her dogs, brothers named Jacob and Esau, journeyed 2.5 miles to a home on Circle Drive, broke through a screened porch and killed a woman's pet cat.
Animal Services also said the dogs chased Cocoa City Councilwoman Brenda Warner, who also lives on Circle Drive, officials said.
"They chased me and they chased the police officer and they went after my dogs," Warner said.
Housenga said her dogs are loving and sweet, but one of them can be seen captured on video Monday chasing a Cocoa police officer.
"When they actually lassoed one dog, the other dog became very aggressive and tried to charge at them as well, so it was a pretty chaotic scene there for a while," Cocoa Police Department spokeswoman Yvonne Martinez said.
After initially being placed in an Animal Services vehicle, the dogs were returned to Housenga on Monday.
She received four tickets, two for each dog. The fines total $320.
Housenga said she hopes the cat's owner can forgive her, saying she'd even buy her a new cat to try and make amends.
"I'm told she's devastated. I mean, this was a family pet," Martinez said.
"I started crying," Housenga said. "The fact of losing something you care about as much as I care about my animals, it would break my heart."
In addition to being ticketed, Housenga is expected to receive a dangerous dog warning letter from Animal Services.