A four-year feud between two El Paso County households allegedly reached a horrifying breaking point in June when a neighbor's cat, belonging to a 15-year-old boy, was thrown into a yard with dogs and killed. The suspect, Ashley Losey, now faces five criminal charges stemming from the incident, according to court and arrest records.
Lindsey Hodges Hough, whose son owned the cat, named Toby, told GreaterGood that the dispute between the two households had gone on for four years before the fatal incident. She said other animals roam the neighborhood and dogs sometimes escape their yards, prompting her to install cameras around her home because of the ongoing friction between the families. Toby was outside the home, as he often was, when the attack occurred.
Per arrest records, surveillance footage showed Losey tossing Toby into her backyard, where her dogs were present, and the cat was then chased by the animals. Investigators have described that footage as key evidence in the felony animal cruelty case. Hough called the alleged act utterly shocking, and said Toby's parents are devastated by the loss of the family pet.
Charges Go Beyond Animal Cruelty
According to KRDO13, Losey is facing a Class 4 felony charge of aggravated cruelty to animals, along with one count of tampering with evidence, two counts of owning a dangerous dog, and two counts of child abuse with no injury. The station reported that the child abuse counts involve no physical injury to minors, while the dangerous dog counts address the animals allegedly involved in Toby's death. Losey was arrested in connection with the case, reportedly on the aggravated cruelty charge. Under Colorado Revised Statutes § 18-9-202, aggravated cruelty to animals is defined as knowingly and needlessly torturing, mutilating, or killing an animal, and it carries potential penalties of two to six years in state prison, three years of mandatory parole, and fines up to $500,000, according to the Colorado Legal Defense Group. That standard is notably harsher than Colorado's typical animal cruelty statute, which is usually charged as a misdemeanor for neglect or non-fatal mistreatment. A conviction on the felony charge would also trigger mandatory post-conviction requirements, including mental health evaluations, anger management treatment, court-ordered restitution, and a judicial prohibition on owning or holding custody of animals, per the same account.
Case Heads Toward Disposition
Late in August, Losey appeared in El Paso County District Court for a disposition hearing, a procedural step where defense counsel weighs plea offers, requests more trial preparation time, or moves the case toward trial, the station reported. Losey declined to make substantive public comments ahead of the hearing and referred inquiries to her defense attorney. It remains unclear whether the case will resolve through a plea agreement or proceed to trial, and the eventual fate of Losey's dogs under local dangerous dog statutes has not been determined.
The case will unfold through the criminal justice system, with the courts ultimately making the legal determination, according to the GreaterGood report. Following public disclosure of the incident, advocacy organization In Defense of Animals launched a public petition drive in July urging the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office to pursue maximum statutory penalties against Losey. The organization noted that Toby was a 15-year-old family pet who had lived as an outdoor cat in the neighborhood for years, roaming without incident until the dispute between the households escalated.
A Dedicated Unit Built For Cases Like This
The case will move through a prosecutorial office with a specific focus on this kind of crime. 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael J. Allen established a dedicated Animal Cruelty Prosecution Unit serving El Paso and Teller counties in 2021, shortly after taking office, according to KRDO. The unit directs specialized prosecutorial resources toward felony animal abuse and neglect cases.
The volume of such cases in the county is substantial. Animal Law Enforcement, the division of the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region contracted to enforce animal laws locally, conducted 4,852 animal cruelty investigations and responded to 5,177 reports of dangerous animals in 2025 across more than 5,400 square miles of southern Colorado, per the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region. The organization also partners with Pikes Peak Area Crime Stoppers to maintain an anonymous, 24/7 tip line for reporting animal cruelty, giving residents a channel to submit evidence without attaching their names to a report.
For neighbors caught in disputes before they turn criminal, the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office also operates a Neighborhood Justice Center that offers voluntary mediation services, according to the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office. Mediators there facilitate two-hour conflict resolution sessions meant to help neighbors reach mutually agreeable terms and manage ongoing friction before it boils over. Whether that kind of intervention was ever attempted in the years-long feud between Losey and Hough's household is not addressed in available records.
