Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
My dog’s been paralysed by savage attack
Claire urges owners to take care
A WOMAN whose pet was paralysed after a vicious attack by another dog has appealed to owners to “take responsibility”.
Claire Savage said her Cocker Spaniel was grabbed by the throat by a Staffordshire Bull Terrier-type dog and shaken like a rag doll.
The incident, which also involved a Dalmatian, happened when she had the pooch out for an evening walk at White Park Bay near Ballycastle, Co Antrim.
Claire said: “This big Staffy-type just came tearing out from the undergrowth and went straight for Reuben’s neck.
“It just saw an animal and grabbed him by the throat. It had him on the ground for what felt like forever.”
The Bushmills woman added it was not until she had Reuben out for a walk four weeks after the attack that the true extent of the injuries became clear.
She said: “Literally five minutes into his walk his back right leg just started looking all wobbly as if he was drunk.
“It gave way and he could hardly stand on both back legs. He was like Bambi. I took him into my vet in Coleraine, where at first they thought it was an infection.
“They kept him in for the weekend but then he couldn’t move all four legs and was basically paralysed.” Reuben was moved to a specialist veterinary practice in Belfast where Claire was given the choice of putting him to sleep or paying thousands of pounds for an operation.
She opted for the latter and Reuben went under the knife on August 22.
Now, almost two weeks later, Reuben is ready for home but it is unclear whether he will ever make a full recovery.
Claire appealed for people to take control of their pets.
She warned: “Even if you think they are friendly at home they could still attack another dog.”