Burke County neighborhood say loose dogs are damaging cars

BURKE COUNTY, N.C. — Homeowners in Burke County say several cars have been damaged by two dogs that are running loose at night in the neighborhood.

The owner of the dogs does have fencing around his property but told Channel 9’s Dave Faherty some of his dogs can jump that fence. He says he had no idea of the damage here until we showed him the photos.

Jodi Patterson and her husband couldn’t believe the damage done to their daughter’s car by dogs in the Lake Acres neighborhood. Much of the area around one of the wheel wells appears to have been chewed apart this weekend.

“You’re thinking that it’s a bear but she saw the dog when she came out,” neighbor Jodi Patterson said.

“Angry at first,” neighbor Darryl Patterson said, “Not upset with the dog as much but dogs need ownership.”

The couple shared photos of one of the mastiff dogs that they say appears to be malnourished running loose near their home. Homeowners say so far three vehicles have been damaged by the dogs.

“I think animals have tried to hide under cars and the dogs just go wild trying to get to the animal,” neighbor Gregg Chesney said, “And it’s caused thousands of dollars in damage.”

Animal services were out in the Lake Acres subdivision Monday morning. The dogs owner, Travis Dolinger, says he has two mastiff’s and they are able to jump his fence. He met with animal services Monday afternoon and plans on talking with his neighbors about what’s happened.

“I personally want to apologize to all of my neighbors that I have caused issues and we’ll be in touch soon to work things out,” dog owner Travis Dolinger said, “Figure out what to do.”

Dolinger says he loves his dogs and plans on moving to a farm in the next couple of weeks. He says one of the dogs is older and has lost weight recently.

Burke County rules require the owner of a dog to report any damage to property or biting incident to animal services. But only if that dog has a history of aggressive behavior toward a person or other pet.

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