(Warning: Graphic images below)
A Kamloops-area couple have nearly $1,000 in vet bills after their dog was allegedly attacked at random by a pitbull.
Jeannine Hoefner is from Pinantan Lake, and says the attack happened on June 24, at the family’s vacation property in Bridge Lake.
Her border collie Lily needed stitches, staples, and needed her wounds drained after the pitbull grabbed her by the neck.
“It came up the driveway, this black pitbull, white chest, a female… She was honed in on our dog, she did not miss a beat. Her eyes locked in on the dog and that was it. And she pounced; when Lily went to stand up, she pounced on her.”
Hoefner says her husband Pete managed to pull the dog off of Lily.
She says she immediately took her own dog to Kamloops, two hours away, to get cared for.
“They were wonderful, they took her in. They said it’s going to look ugly when we’re finished. And her whole neck has been shaved, she’s been stitched, two drains were put in, there’s bruising on some of the muscle. There’s staples there, and I’m going in (tomorrow), she’s getting the staples removed.”
Meantime, after the attack, they tied up the pitbull on their property, and Hoefner says her husband Pete went to get firewood at the back of the property and the dog was gone when he came back out front about an hour later, although its collar was still tied up. That was at about 3.5 hours after the attack.
“(Pete) is hoping someone came and picked it up.”
Hoefner says neither animal control nor RCMP knew where the pit bull came from. She says she does not have an affliction towards any breed of dog, and says in this case the pitbull’s owner needs to be held responsible.
“I’ll back up a bit here; my grandkids, seven, three and 18 months old, were there the day before. They were laying on the grass playing with my dog, Lily. Can you imagine the horror these children would’ve experienced, seeing that happen to their pet?” she says.
“I keep going over it in my head, thinking, my dog did nothing wrong. She did nothing wrong, except to be there on our private property.”
(Photos: Jeannine and Pete Hoefner)