Owners’ heartbreak after dog mauled at Ponto Falls
GAIL Watson and her husband Dave were holidaying with their beloved toy poodle at Ponto Falls, near Wellington, when in a split moment, a leisurely walk turned into a nightmare.
Mrs Watson was stretching her legs after their arrival at the camp grounds on January 21 2022, walking their nine-yearold Max in his harness when out of nowhere, a large, unrestrained dog attacked – mauling the 5kg dog and carrying him away.
Struck by a mixture of shock and horror, Mrs Watson chased after the dog, her screams alerting the other owner who were camped nearby.
“The man came and belted his dog off Max...he was in a bad way,” she said.
“I wasn’t thinking straight. I rushed back to the top of the campground where my husband and I told him to unhook the van because we needed to get into a vet.
“It was after 4.30pm and I was panicking, thinking we weren’t going to get in.
“We rushed into Wellington vet just on 5pm and once they knew what happened, they shook their head and said his chance of surviving would be zilch. He had to be euthanised.”
Max had suffered from many puncture wounds and his little back was broken in three places.
Mrs Watson herself had sustained damage to her shoulder during the struggle to free Max from the other dog’s jaws – tearing all the tendons from her shoulder.
Devastated, the couple returned back to the camping ground only to find the owners of the other dog had packed up and disappeared.
“The police were notified and did visit the camp area but did very little. They took a statement from us but never interviewed anyone else camped there... or people who saw what happened and heard my screaming,” Mrs Watson said.
“Two months on and we’re still waiting on the police to talk to these people. We have tracked them down (via dashcam footage) and have given all the information to the police but they don’t seem to care.
“I just want justice for Max and compensation for my vet and medical expenses.
“Dave has MS. We go away as often as we can because there will come a day when we can’t go, and we bought the caravan because we didn’t want to leave Max at home. He loved it.”
Mrs Watson will undergo an MRI after Easter and a surgeon will determine whether she can be operated on.
“There’s no strength in that arm. I can’t lift or extend it. It’s a pain the bum – I’m Dave’s carer,” she said.
“We’ve sought legal advice from our solicitor but it could cost a lot of money we might not have.
“I want them to own the situation because they obviously ran for a reason. I want their dog dealt with. It could have been a child.”
An NSW police spokesperson said the investigation was ongoing and no further information could be provided at the time.