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Two dogs accused of intentionally killing two cats have their fates at issue in San Benito County Superior Court later this week.
At a Jan. 7 court hearing, Commissioner Page B. Galloway will decide the fates of two dogs that have been deemed “dangerous animals” by the Hollister Police Department following an incident where it is alleged they killed the two cats following their escape from the backyard of their owners, Timothy and Yuko Pierson.
The original complaint filed by the Police Department states there were two separate incidents on Oct. 29, 2025, involving Bubba, a five-year-old Terrier mix, and Stewie, a one-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer, both of which resulted in the death of cats.
Following its investigation of a complaint filed on Nov. 3, the Hollister Police Department held a hearing on Nov. 13. An order was issued on Nov. 20 to the Division of Animal Care and Services to “humanely destroy Stewie and Bubba as allowed by code and law.”
The upcoming court hearing will be the court’s final reply to the Piersons’ appeal of the death sentence.
“The decision was the most severe punishment when something like this happens,” Timothy Pierson told BenitoLink. “There are different options, the 10th being death. The Hollister police didn’t entertain any other restriction.”
Those other possible proscriptions include registering the dogs as dangerous, confinement, muzzling while on leash, spaying, liability insurance, notifying anyone like postmasters or meter readers who might lawfully come onto the property of the dog’s designation as dangerous, posting warning signs, providing guarantees to the city for any costs incurred, and keeping the dogs away from anywhere that might allow their escape.
The first attack occurred at around 10:30 a.m. near 1250 Brighton Lane in Hollister, according to the complaint. It states that the witness, Denise Souza, heard a “commotion” outside and, going outside to investigate, discovered the two dogs “pinning a gray cat against the fence” at the side of her residence. She said she sprayed the dogs with a hose in an attempt to stop the attack, the complaint indicated.
The dogs then left Souza’s residence and ran down the road toward Fairhaven Drive, the complaint said. At that point, Souza noticed that the cat, “Finn,” had “drool covering its body and appeared unable to move,” according to the complaint, and then called Animal Control.
The dogs proceeded to 2310 Valley View Road, the complaint said, where the second witness, Joanne Soza, spotted them at 11:10 a.m. attacking a neighbor’s cat, “Luna.” Soza said she saw the dogs having “a tug of war with a cat” and that a couple driving by interceded to rescue the cat, according to the complaint.
The third witness, Juan Ramirez, was one of the people who tried to rescue the cat, the complaint said, and Ramirez said in his statement that at first he thought the dogs were “playing tug of war” with a toy. He describes the cat as being “torn apart” and said he yelled at the dogs.
When that was ineffective, he said he “physically pushed them off the cat,” then, as the dogs continued the attack, kicked at them, according to the complaint. The dogs released the cat, which then ran underneath the couple’s car, the complaint said.
While helping the cat’s owner, Rick Ibarra, retrieve the cat from under the car, Ramirez told police he noticed Luna had “visible chunks missing” and was foaming at the mouth.
Both cats succumbed to their injuries, and, on Nov. 3, Animal Control confiscated the dogs. Determining that the dogs “hunted their prey down, cornered, and attacked it,” Bubba and Stewie were designated as “dangerous animals” which required them to be humanely destroyed.
Timothy Pierson said he feels the appeal hearing was unfairly weighted against him. He was told, for example, that he would have to pay a fee for an officer to attend, which his attorney advised against. But on the day of the hearing, he said five officers attended anyway.
He also said that the cat owners were allowed to read witness statements at the hearing, but his statements were not allowed into the record.
“The hearing was completely not what we were led to believe it was going to be,” Timothy Pierson said. “We couldn’t have people show up on our behalf.”
He also said police misrepresented the training both dogs received, particularly Stewie being trained as a hunting dog to retrieve with a soft mouth rather than hunt or attack.
“They took everything that we presented,” Timothy Pierson said, “and flipped it around. They said that he had hunting training so they searched out the prey and attacked the cat.”
Timothy Pierson filed a statement with the Hollister Police Department on Nov. 20, acknowledging his receipt of the euthanasia order, indicating his disagreement with it and indicating he would seek legal counsel for an appeal, which he filed on Nov. 24.
Following an observation period, the dogs were returned to the Piersons on Dec. 11, after they agreed to a list of strict conditions, including modifying their backyard to ensure the dogs were confined.
One issue was the gate from which the dogs escaped, which Stewie had dislodged by repeatedly pouncing on it. It was subsequently replaced with a gate featuring a stronger latch and hinges that opened only inward.
The dogs were also ordered to be registered irrevocably as “dangerous animals” and confined at all times.
“They’re in a cage in the backyard,” Timothy Pierson said. “They have to be locked in the backyard 24/7, only coming out on a leash to pee in my own backyard.”
He said that the two dogs experienced a marked physical decline while in custody at the shelter, particularly Stewie, whom he describes as “skinnier and emaciated with his whole entire spine visible.”
Timothy Pierson alleged there was no effort made by the authorities to determine whether the cats may have initiated the attacks.
“The evidence clearly shows,” he said, “that Hollister Police Department did not do any investigative steps to determine whether or not it was an unprovoked attack.”
He argued there is no record in California of dogs being ordered destroyed after killing a cat and he thought there was a good chance that the appeal would go in his favor.
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