A Red Deer pet owner was traumatized after his tiny pooch was mauled by a larger dog, sustaining a broken jaw, lost teeth and a bleeding tongue.
“It was awful, awful, awful,” recalled Randy Moffatt of the Sept. 7 attack on his bichon-Pomeranian by a larger shepherd-cross in a neighbourhood park near Pines School.
Moffatt and his wife, Lidia, were left with a “yelping,” suffering puppy — who’s now recovering — and a $5,000 vet bill to cover Cappuccino’s treatment and four-day pet hospital stay.
Meanwhile, the larger dog’s owners have refused to accept responsibility for their animal’s actions and will not contribute to Cappuccino’s medical costs, said Moffatt.
The Pines resident suspects this attack might not be an isolated incident.
About 10 of his neighbours have since shared stories about the same aggressive neighbourhood dog and Moffatt has passed these people’s names on to animal services officials, who are investigating.
Moffatt urges anyone who’s had a close brush with a vicious dog to inform authorities before it hurts someone.
“I’d like to tell people that if you see something, say something, so it doesn’t happen to another pet — or even a child.”
Cappuccino, who weighs less than five pounds, was trotting beside Lidia and the couple’s two nieces at a Pines community gathering. Lots of people and pets were there, said Moffatt — including the shepherd-cross that was lying behind a chair.
As soon as this large dog saw Cappuccino, the canine advanced five or six feet toward the small, fluffy dog, said Moffatt.
“He sniffed him and then he bit him,” said Moffatt, who wasn’t present during the attack, but heard the story from his crying nieces and his upset wife.
Apparently a bystander was forced to repeatedly hit the bigger dog to make him release Cappuccino — as the young nieces screamed in horror.
Neither dog was restrained at the time. Moffatt said Cappuccino was allowed to walk without a leash because he stays close by and is not a threat.
The other dog was dragging his leash along, as no one was holding onto it, he added.
When Moffatt saw Cappuccino, the six-month-old pet was bleeding from the mouth and whimpering. He drove the dog to the emergency pet hospital and “one of his baby molars came off into my hand.”
It was discovered that Cappuccino’s jaw was broken and had to be immobilized through a complicated process. The pet was initially fed through a tube in his nose and had to be kept sedated.
The Moffatts, who have no children, consider Cappuccino to be “our baby,” said the owner, who flew the dog up from Mexico, where he and his wife volunteer with animal support organizations.
Moffatt, a semi-retired sign installer, has started fundraisers on Facebook (www.facebook.com/donate/469575063593933) and GoFundMe, hoping to get donations to help with the vet bill.
He intends to launch a civil suit against the larger dog’s owners. If he wins damages that cover Cappuccino’s medical costs, Moffatt said he will pay back any donations made by contributors.
lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com
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