‘They were witnessing a scene from their worst nightmare’
Campaign aims to aid twin sisters injured while protecting toddler from attack by family dog
The twin sisters who were badly injured after the dog belonging to one of the women turned on the other’s young son have left hospital and are now recovering at home.
A crowdfunding campaign has been launched to help support Jessi and Kati Mather as they take time to recover from the attack, which happened Wednesday in a Richmond park.
“They’re both really, really shaken by it,” said family friend Alegria Gomez, who started the GoFundMe campaign.
The Mather sisters, 21, were walking with Jessi’s three-year-old son Jayden and Kati’s dog, a large Rottweiler-husky cross, Wednesday afternoon when the dog suddenly turned on them.
Jessi tried to shield her son from the dog while Kati attempted to draw the dog’s attention away from the child.
Both of them, and Kati in particular, suffered a number of injuries before police arrived on the scene.
A passerby who tried to help was also injured.
An officer was forced to fire her gun when the dog turned on her as well. The animal then fled, but was later captured uninjured and taken into the care of Richmond Animal Protection Society.
Jessi and the passerby were treated for multiple lacerations while Kati suffered more than 100 bites, a fractured arm and a detached bicep.
Kati was listed in critical condition when she underwent emergency surgery last week and received more than 250 stitches, Gomez said.
Jayden was not injured in the attack.
Both women are now at home and recovering while dealing with the “mental trauma,” Gomez said.
“They’re doing OK, I guess, for what they’ve been through but their injuries remain,” said Gomez, a longtime friend of the Mather sisters.
“They’re both on a lot of pain medication right now.”
Richmond RCMP Cpl. Dennis Hwang called the Mather twins’ actions “incredibly heroic.”
“Our officers commented that it was a horrifying sight to bear witness to,” Hwang said following the attack.
“We see and love dogs as faithful companions, and now they were witnessing a scene from their worst nightmare.”
According to Gomez, the family is trying to process the media attention and what will happen next to the dog.
“The family’s all really confused, to be honest.
“He’s never once bitten anything like that and he’s been exposed to Jayden since he’s been alive,” Gomez said of the three-year-old dog.
“They’re also really upset because this was their dog. It’s like losing a family pet on top of the physical attack.”
Gomez said the family is torn because Kati and her boyfriend, who co-own the dog, no longer feel as if they can care for the dog — but they also do not want to see it put down.
Whether the dog will be destroyed or not is a decision for the shelter and the City of Richmond, Hwang said.
Jessi and Kati, who both work in the food service industry, will likely require weeks to recover, Gomez said.
The GoFundMe campaign hopes to raise $2,000 for the sisters.
For more information or to donate, visit gofundme.com/jessiandkati.
“... this was their dog. It’s like losing a family pet on top of the physical attack.” — ALEGRIA GOMEZ FRIEND OF THE MATCHER SISTERS