[MyMolly]

A dog loses his eye and pet owners say an LUS meter reader kicked him.
However, they say no one is claiming responsibility.

"He came limping on three legs." Dog owner, Renie Botha says, "all I saw was his eye hanging out and blood all over."
Botha recalls what happened on Friday when a worker contracted by Lafayette Utilities was in her back-yard taking a reading; she says he kicked one of her dogs, puncturing the dog's eye.
KATC contacted LUS and a spokesperson sent a statement saying the meter reader was "aggressively approached by five dogs... and he panicked and kicked one of the dogs who he feared was going to bite him." The dog the reader allegedly kicked, a Yorkie, now without an eye.

"I didn't know how to handle it," Botha said.

"We understand they have a right to read your meter," Botha's daughter, Ilse Spears said. "We just want them to not abuse your animals."

"I have never seen in my career of thirty years an incident as unfortunate as this," LUS Director Terry Huval said.

Huval says the company is looking into the incident and will decide what actions to take, if any, once the investigation is complete.

"We have to do this in a reasoned way." Huval says, "(an investigation) that's justifiable for everyone involved."

However, for some pet owners like Botha, there's not much that can justify a one-eyed Yorkie.

"It was unnecessary what (the reader) did." Botha says, "that's how I feel."

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