WOODY CREEK, Colo. - Marauding dogs are being blamed for menacing people in this hamlet near Aspen and killing four peacocks owned by writer and journalist Hunter S. Thompson. Thompson said Sunday a pack of dogs killed the birds in one week.

"I found them half-eaten lying on the road. We have bodies down here," he said. "Anything that kills four animals, four people or four of anything on my property is going to die one way or another."

Colorado law allows people to kill dogs harassing livestock or wildlife. In 2000, Thompson fired a shotgun to scare a bear off his land and slightly wounded his assistant, who was sprayed by pellets ricocheting off the ground.

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Thompson's neighbor, Tom Klutznick, said several dogs went after him over the weekend as he was walking.

"They were ugly," Klutznick said. "They look like they're between 25 and 30 pounds. They just came charging down the road."

Pitkin County animal safety director ReRe Baker said it could be neighborhood dogs roving in a pack and chasing wildlife. She said the county can't intervene until a formal complaint is filed.

"It could be those dogs, but unless there's an eyewitness to it, all I can do is issue a ticket for dogs running at large," Baker said.

Thompson, who has raised birds for decades, said he was disturbed by losing four of his prized peacocks. He has given several as gifts to friends and the birds' plumes are in high demand among his friends.