THOMASVILLE — Pit bulldog owners apparently have panicked following the Monday killing of a little girl by a dog of the breed.

The animal control division of the Thomasville-Thomas County Humane Society has picked up 11 pit bulls since Monday.

“They were running loose,” said Carol Jones, animal shelter executive director.

Another seven pit bulls were picked up this week. “They are part of a suspected fighting ring,” Jones explained.

Jones was almost at a loss for words late Thursday afternoon about the pit bulls turned loose by owners since the five-year-old’s death.

Owners of the dogs are panicking, she said.

Someone who lives near where the child was killed called the animal shelter Thursday and said the canines that killed the child were loose in the neighborhood.

“Of course, the dogs are here with us,” Jones said.

The three pit bulls — a grown male, a grown female and a puppy — are in quarantine at the shelter. The dogs are under rabies observation.

Jones said the animals are being observed, because they might have been in contact with other people and with animals.

The dogs belonged to the girl’s mother and her live-in boyfriend. The child’s family has asked that the pit bulls be euthanized.

Jones said Thursday, Jan. 15, is when she expects euthanization to take place.

If the girl’s death is spurring the release of pit bulls in the city, the dogs’ owners should talk to neighbors about the presence of the canines and learn their concerns instead of turning them loose, Jones said.

“They’re just letting them go,” Jones said, pointing out that the shelter is housing 18 of the breed.

The panic began Wednesday and gained appreciable momentum on Thursday.