Riverside County Animal Services

"It's probably one of the worst things I've seen," said Union Pacific Special Agent Sal Pina, who untied Banjo from the tracks.

An elderly man who wanted to get rid of his dog tied the pooch to the train tracks, but his dastardly plan was foiled by an eagle-eyed engineer, according to authorities.

The railroad operator hit the emergency brakes and the 10-month-old poodle terrier mix -- nicknamed Banjo by animal-control officials in Riverside County, Calif. -- was saved.

His owner was detained but will not be charged with a crime because he may have dementia, officials said. He told investigators he didn't want the dog but didn't know what to do with him.

"It's probably one of the worst things I've seen," Union Pacific Special Agent Sal Pina, who untied the animal from the tracks after the close call on April 2, said in a statement released Tuesday.

"I've never seen something like this," said Pina, who owns the same breed of dog.

Riverside officials said the dog was healthy and friendly. Although he made several TV appearances, he's no publicity hound; a vet tech takes him home every night to work on his timid temperment, officials said.

Hundreds of adoption offers from across the country poured in and officials said they expect Banjo -- named after old traffic signals found on some rail lines -- will have a new home by Monday.

Riverside County Animal Services

This image provided by Riverside County Animal Services shows Banjo, a 10-month-old poodle-terrier mix that was tied to train tracks in the California desert.

This story was originally published on Wed Apr 10, 2013 10:47 AM EDT

SEATTLE -- Pet owners in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle are outraged after someone purposely dumped cayenne pepper all over an area. 

They claim it burnt a dog's paws and could make others sick. 

"It's absolutely despicable, their intentions is what scares me," said Monica Gujral Wallace, who's dog was burnt by the pepper. 

Emptied out bottles of pepper are scattered on the ground. Piles of the spice were purposely put there for pets. 

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"How does that even get into your head? Are you that evil?" said Gujral Wallace. 

Gujral Wallace was walking her dog Buddha on Sunday when she came in contact with it. 

"It's burned the legs of my dog, it's caused several hundred dollars in vet bills," she said. 

While cayenne pepper isn't toxic, veterinarians say it causes a burning sensation and can be worse if swallowed. 

"It upsets the stomach, burns the inside and may cause a little diarrhea," said Dr. Zile Singh, a veterinarian at Greenwood Animal Hospital. 

Fredda Starr is the person responsible. 

The property manager of the "Greenwood Court Manor" apartments says people weren't picking up after their pets. 

"I do love dogs, but I don't like all the poo that they leave over the ground," said Starr. 

She agreed to stop. 

"I'm sorry that it hurt the little dog, what I'm going to do is dilute it as best I can and put up some signs," she said. 

Gujral Wallace says she plans to get the community involved in keeping the area clean. 

While a complaint was filed with Seattle Police, Starr wasn't charged with any crimes. 

A couple with four children were shot and killed in an argument over dog feces on Monday, police in Texas said.

Officers were called to a shooting at the Sable Ridge Apartments in Dallas at about 8 a.m. Monday.

When officers arrived, they found two people, later identified as 32-year-old Michelle Jackson and 31-year-old Jamie Stafford, dead at the scene from apparent gunshot wounds.  An infant inside the couple's apartment was not injured.

After talking with witnesses, police began searching for Chung Kim, a resident of the complex identified by residents as a man who lived in the unit below Stafford and Jackson and was seen leaving the complex after the shooting.

Police later located Kim in his black Lexus SUV nearby and took him into custody.

Investigators said the couple had been dumping dog feces on the patio and at the front door of Kim's apartment.

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Police said Kim pulled out a gun and shot Jackson as she stood on her balcony. Police said Kim then went upstairs and into the couple's apartment and shot Stafford as he jumped off the balcony while trying to escape. 

Police said Kim then stood over Stafford and shot him again.

Residents said they heard arguing followed by several gunshots.

"I heard about eight or nine gunshots just go off, ‘Bow, bow, bow,’ like three separate times,” said resident Michael Issa. “It was like, first there was two or three, then there was a pause for like 30 or 40 seconds and then there was another three or four shots, and there was a pause, and a couple more shots

"I waited for like three or four minutes and I ain't hear nothing. I came outside to smoke a cigarette and look upstairs and there's feet hanging over my head," he added.

A friend of the victim said there had been several arguments over pets and noise.

One neighbor, Yoland Washington, spoke of the couple's children, including the infant who was home at the time of the shooting.

"When they come home today, their mother and their father is gone. Little baby, they call the newborn Little Mama, Little Mama is not going to never know her parents,” said Washington.

Child protection officer Marissa Gonzales said they had taken temporary custody of a one-month-old child found unharmed inside the apartment and that three other children who were at school at the time of the shooting are now with relatives.

Keaton Fox, Greg Janda and Stefan Gorman, NBC5, contributed to this report.

A pack of coyotes chasing after a puppy broke several panes of glass in the door of a home in a suburb of Chicago Friday as they tried to chase the dog into the house.

"I've never seen anything quite like this," Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel said of the attack on South Herbert Road, Riverside, about a mile from the Des Plaines River.

Dog owner Roger Nelson said it was about 4 a.m. when he let his three dogs -- a beagle, a golden retriever and a German shepherd puppy -- out into the yard.

He said his pups barely made it out of the door when the pack of coyotes came charging.

The coyotes -- Nelson said there were four of them -- came from the bushes and easily cleared a fence.

"That's about a three-and-a-half foot fence. I mean, they jumped it, no issues at all," he said.

Nelson said he hurried the dogs back inside. They made it, but the coyotes didn't let up.

"[They were] just standing up on their back as they were clawing at the door, and then the two older [dogs] I got, they were snarling back at them and growling," he said.

The coyotes were finally scared away when Nelson fired a high-powered BB gun at them, striking two of them, police said. Nelson's dogs were unharmed.

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The attack left a lot of damage to the door. Several panes of glass of an outer door were broken, as was the glass on the main entry door.

Police Sgt. Bill Gutschick said in a statement that in his 25 years on duty, this was the first time he’s heard of coyotes trying to get into a home while chasing a pet.

Riverside has had other recent reports of coyotes attacking pets, Weitzel said, and on Jan. 3, a 7-month-old Bichon-Poo puppy was killed in the 100 block of Addison Road.

Weitzel urged residents to be aware of wild animals in the area.

"Coyotes do not know the difference between pets and the wild creatures they hunt, so try to protect pets by accompanying them outdoors," he said.

And use a short leash, he said.

A couple in Pennsylvania is facing criminal charges for selling their neighbor’s lost puppy on Craigslist instead of returning it, according to police.  

Police in Leechburg, Pa., said two dogs, a Rottweiler and a golden retriever mix, wandered onto the property of Scott Duff, 41, and Roxanne Duff, 38, on September 3.

After discovering the animals, police say, Roxanne Duff left a phone message for police saying she was unsure what to do with them.

Leechburg Police Officer Christopher Laird returned Roxanne Duff’s message, recommending that she contact either an animal shelter or a local dog kennel, according to a police report. He told her he would contact her if they find dogs’ owner. During that call, Roxanne Duff allegedly told Laird that the Rottweiler puppy had run away since her initial report.

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Later in the evening, Laird received a call from the dogs’ owner, Shawn Lerch, who said Duff had returned his golden retriever but not the Rottweiler. Lerch said he believed his dog was still in the area and suspected the Duffs were keeping him, despite what he had been told.

When Laird knocked on his neighbor's door, Scott Duff answered and allegedly denied having the puppy. The next day, Lerch called police again, saying he believed the dog was still at the Duffs' house, according to the report.

This time, police chief Michael Diebold went to the Duffs' home, where he found the couple's five-year-old son and his babysitter. According to the police report, the child said, “his mommy had given the dog to a woman from the Internet."

Diebold contacted Scott Duff again and told him what his child had said. Duff told him he had no knowledge of this and said he only knew that the puppy had escaped from his yard. A short time later, Duff called police back and allegedly admitted that his wife had placed an ad and sold the dog on Craigslist for $50. 

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After police located the woman who bought the Rottweiler, who said she was unaware of the theft. Roxanne Duff went to Pittsburgh, where the woman lived, to retrieve the dog, and it was returned to Lerch.

Police charged the Duffs last week with not making a reasonable effort to return lost property, two counts of conspiracy and false reporting.

The couple is due in court for a preliminary hearing on October 31. 

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