Midtown residents say hawks attacking small pets | News

MEMPHIS, TN-(WMC-TV) – An e-mail is circulating amongst Midtown Memphis warning them to watch out for hawks attacking small animals.

Midtown resident Donna Karney said Friday her Chihuahua Moby was seconds away from being picked up and taken away this past summer.

"This huge hawk flew down from the wire or something, and my husband had been seeing it up there, and it just flew down and the dog never saw it," said Karney.

Karney and her husband walked outside just in time to see the bird hovering over Moby.  At 10 years old and toothless, Karney said Moby does not have much fight in him.

"This huge bird almost picked up our dog, so there are some big birds in Midtown and they will swoop down and take your pets," said Karney.

Moby is not the only animal to catch a hawk's eyes.  An e-mail chain being circulated shows the issue of big birds attacking animals is not just in her neighborhood.

Midtown resident Jo Kee is part of the e-mail chain.  She has seen hawks eyeing her yard.

"I think it's great, because they are taking care of the rodent population and keeping down other pests," said Kee.

While she is concerned, Kee is a bird watcher and welcomes new animals to her yard.

"I just think it's awesome in this neighborhood to have these types of birds of prey," she said.

Some Midtown residents believe the popularity of urban chicken raising could be leading to more large birds in urban areas because hawks hunt rats that live off of chicken feces.

Copyright 2012 WMC-TV. All rights reserved.