http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/they-a...9235113625.html


"A Sydney woman, terrorised by a group of hoons in a car who chased down her small pet dogs, killing one, has described the men as inhuman and callous.

Jennifer Patton said they even taunted her as she went to the aid of her stricken puppy, Vinnie, shouting "run b****'' out of the car window.

Police are treating the incident seriously and say the animal cruelty could signal the beginnings of serious criminal tendencies.

If caught, the men could face up to five years in jail.

Ms Patton, 32, was walking her dogs on Grex Avenue at Minchinbury, in Sydney's west, about 10.45 (AEST) last night when a red hatchback with three young men inside mounted the footpath and chased the animals.

The car swerved and did several U-turns during the pursuit in a deserted industrial area, she said.

Pomeranian chihuahua cross Vinnie, aged one, was running back to Ms Patton when it was run over and killed.

The car also narrowly missed the Orchard Hills woman before speeding away.

"They ran over my sh**zu first, (but) he flattened himself out on the ground because he was so petrified and the car passed over the top of him,'' she told Macquarie Radio.

"Then my little chihuahua cross, who's just 1.2kg and wouldn't hurt a fly ... I was screaming for my dogs to come to me and he started to run towards me and they lined him up and ran him over.

"As the car passed me and I was running up the road to get him because he was lying on the road, they yelled out of the car, 'run, b****!'.''

Ms Patton who has worked in the animal industry all her life, including critical after hours care for the RSPCA, is adamant her pet was deliberately killed.

"I have never seen anything so callous and with such purpose in my life towards animals,'' she told the Seven Network.

"They are not human. How can you do that?

"I was waving and shouting and screaming at them to stop and they were just laughing.

"Somewhere tonight there's three young men who think what they did out on that street was really funny. Well it wasn't. That little dog didn't deserve to die like that.''

Ms Patton said the men, who were wearing baseball caps, acted as if they were country boys racing around a paddock in a ute chasing a rabbit.

She said she was too distressed to remember more details about the men or the car's registration.

Detective Chief Inspector Mal Lanyon said the car's occupants could face five years in jail for serious animal cruelty.

"We're treating (it) as a very offensive and cruel act, and we're treating it with sufficient seriousness,'' he said. "

How terrible. How cruel. They are not killing the dogs for food, or because the dogs are bothering them. They are killing them as a sport, for fun. The owner must be so upset

Very sad story .