A kangaroo and three kinkajous are dead after a pack of dogs scaled the fence of a local exotic pet shop.
Located on a three-acre lot in northeast Houston, S&S Exotic Animals offers a veritable menagerie of unique pets, breeding and selling everything from tarantulas and tortoises to squirrels and scorpions.
But after nearly two decades without incident, owner Suzette Stidom woke up to a nightmare Sunday morning when she discovered that an adult kinkajou and her pet kangaroo Sydney had been killed. The bodies of two more kinkajous — friendly raccoon-like mammals from Central and South America — were found on Wednesday.
"To lose something like that, it’s like losing one of your kids."
Stidom reviewed footage from her surveillance cameras with horror. She tells KHOU that the three dogs are seen roaming around the back of the shop before climbing over the property's six-foot fence. The kangaroo, who has appeared on Great Day Houston, was ripped from his heated area next to the store.
"To lose something like that, it’s like losing one of your kids," she says, adding that a six-week-old kinkajou has been orphaned by the attacks.
An S&S employee tells CultureMap that all the animals are now relocated indoors and that animal control officers have set dog traps. Nevertheless, concerns at the shop will continue until the canine culprits are caught.
"These dogs are running in a pack," worries Stidon, whose shop is located a mere block from Grace Raymond Elementary. "Are they going to go hunting for kids?"
Anyone with information about the dogs is asked to contact the Harris County Verterinary Public Health Division during business hours at (281) 999-3191.
Watch KHOU Ch. 11's report:
Suzette Stidom of S&S Exotic Animals poses with a pet tortoise.
