Corona, CA: Officials Continue Hunt For Wolf-Dog Hybrid After Fatal Attack On Pony

CORONA, CA: Animal control officers continued Saturday to look for a wolf-dog mix that was on the loose after it and another part-wolf hybrid attacked and ate a miniature horse at a ranch near Lake Mathews.

The animal was one of two involved in a gruesome attack on the pony Thursday in a rural area southeast of Corona.

The wolf-dogs were wearing collars, but no tags, and are believed to be escaped or dumped pets, Riverside County Animal Services spokesman John Welsh told the Riverside Press-Enterprise.

Two wolf-dog hybrids entered a corral on the Bar H Ranch near Lake Mathews on Thursday, where they found Bojangles, a six-year-old miniature horse, the newspaper reported.

The dogs set upon the small horse, which had recently been moved to the ranch from Oklahoma, the newspaper said, and ate it.

Bar H ranch hands shot both wolf-dogs, killing one. The other escaped and was still at large.

The dogs were not believed to be feral by animal control officers, and wolves are not native to California. Both animals were wearing a collar, but neither had ownership tags attached.

The dogs might have escaped from their yard or been dumped in the area, the Press-Enterprise reported. There were no clues as to who owned the dogs.

Welsh said if the dogs were caught, the owner could face consequences for breaking leash laws and would be required to pay pound fees, the newspaper said.