Pet Emu Mauled to Death by Pitbulls in Pennsylvania

A pet emu has been mauled to death by two neighborhood pitbulls after the dogs chased the large bird down a Pennsylvania street.

David Callos and Carly Stroman of McKeesport are reeling from the death of their 3-year-old emu named Barb.

They told CBS Pittsburgh that they received a call Tuesday afternoon that one of their emus had escaped and was being attacked by their neighbor’s pitbulls.

In a TikTok video supposedly showing the moments before the attack, an emu was seen being chased around the neighborhood by two dogs.

"It was like a hunting," Callos said.

The McKeesport Police Department told The Independent that officers were sent to Ravine Street “for an emu that had been attacked by two dogs,” adding that the bird died from its injuries.

"By the time I got there, McKeesport police had already had to put her down," Stroman said.

"She was lying in the middle of the road at the bottom of our property line after the dogs had torn her throat out, and the damage they did is just unbelievable."

Barb wasn’t aggressive, and she had never escaped before the incident, according to the family.

Callos said they have had problems with their neighbors and the pitbulls before.

The neighbors deny having the dogs and have not said anything to Callos and Stroman since the incident, the family said.

"We spoke with the dog warden about pressing charges, at least doing some kind of a civil suit for the killing of the animal,” Callos said. “It's considered livestock, and they're expensive.”

McKeesport Police said the department and “animal-regulating” authorities are reviewing the emu’s death.

While some pitbulls may be more likely than other breeds to fight, it doesn’t mean that they’re “unpredictably aggressive,” the anti-animal cruelty organization ASPCA writes on its website.

“All dogs, including pit bulls, are individuals. Treating them as such, providing them with the care, training and supervision they require, and judging them by their actions and not by their DNA or their physical appearance is the best way to ensure that dogs and people can continue to share safe and happy lives together,” the ASPCA writes.