A distraught family's adorable pet Highland cow was drowned while trying to escape being mauled to death by their neighbors' dogs - with a local prosecutor now accused of being too cozy with the killer pets' realtor owners.
Holly and Tyson Simon, of Fort Smith, Arkansas, lost Maple on April 10 after their 30-year-old neighbors Hannah Boze Harmon and Josh Harmon's two dogs viciously attacked two of their animals in a pond.
'We are devastated,' Holly wrote in an April 12 Facebook post.
Maple, who is estimated to be worth more than $10,000, and her sibling Oats were attacked around 11.30am after the Harmon's dogs were caught of doorbell cameras racing into the Simon family's yard. The dogs, who were not named, chased the two into the pond, killing Maple - who was found by her owners lifeless in the pond - and injuring Oats.
The couple was later arrested on charges of obstructing governmental operations after they refused to hand over their dogs to authorities. They were booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center and have since bonded out.
The Harmons co-own Harmon Real Estate Company and share three children - Audrey, Joshua, and Eva - together. They met as student-athletes at Carl Albert State College in Oklahoma and married in May 2016.
Holly and Tyson Simon, of Fort Smith, lost Maple (pictured) on April 10 after their 30-year-old neighbors Hannah Boze Harmon and Josh Harmon's two dogs viciously attacked two of their animals in a pond
Maple (pictured) was found dead in a pond after the dogs killed her. The neighbors helped the family remove Maple's body from the pond
The couple co-owns Harmon Real Estate Company (pictured with their colleagues) and share three children - Audrey, Joshua, and Eva - together. They met as student-athletes at Carl Albert State College in Oklahoma and married in May 2016
Owners Holly and Tyson Simon have since buried the beloved animal on their property
Their dogs were caught on doorbell camera footage racing into the Simon family yard before the attack (pictured)
Their black dog was later euthanized and documentation was provided by Josh to authorities. However, the white dog still remains on the loose and continues to terrorize the Simon family.
'We are still living in this nightmare with no relief as of the time I’m posting this,' Holly wrote on Facebook. 'We are in still in threat/fear of imminent danger to our personal safety, [and] our animals.
'The Fort Smith prosecuting attorney Rita Watkins wouldn't issue the warrant the police wanted,' she continued. 'It's come to light that Rita Watkins is closely connected to owners - "near and dear to their hearts" in video on [Facebook].'
Locals have accused Watkins of protecting the Harmons and calls for her resignation have begun.
Fort Smith Position 5 City Director, Christina Catsavis, is calling for Watkins to step down over the handling the case, saying: 'I believe she is unwilling to work with other agencies to work to a solution. It was concerning to me that it seemed like nothing was being done.'
As of Thursday morning, Watkins has yet to resign or speak publicly on the matter.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Watkins and the Harmons for comment.
'The city can take [the dogs]. But the PA refuses to do so,' Holly lambasted on Facebook. 'It’s left to chance now whether they escape again. Whether my children are next. These dogs have been getting out since September.'
Two days later, on April 14, Holly informed her Facebook friends that the 'white dog was out' again and 'unleased in the driveway.'
The Harmons were arrested on charges of obstructing governmental operations after they refused to hand over their dogs to authorities. They were booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center and have since bonded out
The Simon family has accused Fort Smith City Prosecutor Rita Watkins of not granted a search warrant for the white dog due to being friends with the couple
Josh affectionately interviewed her while she was on the campaign trail and said she was 'near and dear to my heart'
The Harmons had been ordered to 'quarantine' their remaining dog, according to Holly, and when the Simons provided video proof showing otherwise, Hannah allegedly told authorities that the 'video is lying.'
Holly claimed a sergeant contacted Watkins to tell her he was 'concerned of the dogs ability to injure/kill large animals, that if they got out again could bring severe injury to a human, and he believed he should not leave dogs.'
Watkins reportedly said since the attack happened within Fort Smith city boundaries that that authorities could 'take the dogs,' only for her to reverse course hours later.
'We all waited. [Watkins] went home sick. Hours later, she completely reversed course,' Holly wrote. 'We were left without answers as to why. The next day is when we found out about her friendship with the owners.'
Watkins' friendship with the pair is publicly known as she sat down with Josh's company Harmon Real Estate Company during her campaign to talk about her 'humble beginnings' and 'why she should be elected as our Circuit Court Judge for Division VI.'
In the video, Josh and Watkins were friendly, with the former saying the prosecutor was 'near and dear to my heart' and was a 'very nice person.'
Holly detailed her interactions with Watkins, saying: 'Rita Watkins (city prosecutor) called us back [and] told us she couldn’t do anything and the county has also decided not to pursue.
'We then contacted the county and they were not aware this was in their court. the Fort Smith Sergeant immediately upon hearing this, worked all day to get it to the county.'
Holly (pictured with Tyson) said Watkins called her and told her there was nothing that could be done about the dogs, after she had already ordered authorities to remove the dogs
Their other cow, Oats, (pictured) had a 'chunk' taken out of his nose during the attack
The county later deemed the dogs 'vicious and quarantined' and issued the Harmons citations. They were told the dogs had to be 'tethered inside [a] fence,' according to Holly, which she said never happened.
Holly and her two daughters Mia and Abagail, aged 13 and 14, noticed Maple and Oats were being violently attacked after hearing 'abnormal cries from Oats.'
'I started after the girls screaming when I saw the two dogs, mauling and drowning a cow on the far side of the bank,' she wrote. 'By the time I got through the gate & halfway down the hill, Mia was already rounding the pond. That’s when I saw Maple. lifeless. floating in the middle.'
Mia and Abagail managed to fight off the dogs and save Oats.
In a heartbreaking video posted to her account shows the brown cow laying in the center of the shallow pond as Holly can be heard weeping in the background. Holly also shared a photo of her placing her hand lovingly on Maple's head after they managed to get her out of the pond. \
Their neighbors Thomas Gage and Bill Ligon had helped the family remove the 1,000 pound animal from the pond and helped them bury Maple on the property, Holly said.
Holly also shared a video of Oats with a bloodied face. The dogs took a 'chunk' out of his nose, police said.
The family is worried the white dog will attack their other animals - the family owns 50 chickens and a miniature donkey - or worst, one of them.
The family has started a GoFundMe page to purchase Maple Trees for Maple to plant on their property. It has raised $5,525 of it's $1,000 goal
The family buried the cow on the property with the help of the neighbors. The Simons' children are said to be traumatized after the attack
'We've taken steps to protect our animals, so we just want our questions answered. We want questions answered to the timeline of that day,' Holly told the Times Record. 'This is an unsafe situation for the entire neighborhood.'
Mia and Abagail have been left traumatized after the event and the family has felt unsafe while outside following the attack.
Catsavis said the city is working to improve animal issues and have recently approved a spay and neuter ordinance that will go into effect in six months. However, she told the Times Record, the city still has problems with vicious dogs roaming the streets.
'It is a problem in Fort Smith and it is something I hear about regularly,' she said. 'We're hoping the new spay and neuter ordinance helps that. We are hoping a lot of these small steps will make a big impact.
'We've worked really hard to overhaul our animal ordinances. We've done our job making the legislation and the police do their job in enforcing it.'
The family has started a GoFundMe page to purchase Maple Trees for Maple to plant on their property. It has raised $5,525 of it's $1,000 goal.
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