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Gizmo was let outside Sunday night by his owners to do his business on the front lawn. What the 10-pound male Pekingese encountered was too much for him. He was attacked and killed by a pack of four to six larger dogs that have been seen roaming around the St. Inigoes area of St. Mary’s County.

The pack has killed at least one other dog recently and terrorized a resident, according to Gizmo’s owner Brian Corbin. The five-year-old Gizmo was a household pet but he also was a stud in a small breeding operation that recently produced a litter of puppies that the family still has.

Tony Malaspna, director of St. Mary’s County Animal Control, said he and his animal control officers were aware of the pack, which he described as mixed-breed. Although Gizmo was attacked on Grayson Road, Malaspina said the pack has been known to travel over a wide area, making it hard to trap them.

Malaspina said there was a pack in the St. Inigoes area last year but most of them were captured or shot. Malaspina believes one of that pack may have survived and became the leader of the new pack.

Malaspina said traps have been set in the area but Corbin said he was told by an animal control officer on Monday that the only trap available had been stolen, Corbin is concerned about what he believes is inconsistent information he has received from animal control. He said he had been warned about the dog pack by an animal control officer several days before Gizmo was attacked.

Corbin said he also was told that animal control does not work at night so if the pack was found by him or other residents, the best thing to do would be to shoot them.

Malaspina confirmed that another dog had been killed other than Gizmo. He said the owner of that dog shot and killed one of the pack. Corbin said that dog, also a family pet, was a Basset Hound.

Corbin also told the Bat Net that he had been told that a man in the neighborhood was leaving his house for work early one morning. After the door was locked behind him he was confronted by the pack rummaging through a trash can. They growled at him but he was able to escape to his car.

Corbin said he has three young daughters. “What if these dogs try to attack them,” he wondered out loud. He wants to make sure that the tragedy that happened to his family doesn’t happen to someone else. He urges anyone who sees the pack to immediately call Animal Control. Call 301-475-8018 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday or 301-475-8016 for an after-hours emergency.