The owner of a dog left fighting for life following a street attack by another dog, says Northern Ireland must tighten laws to protect companion animals and their families.
Danielle Saunderson from Bangor, Co Down, came home from holiday hours before her dog Teddy, was set upon near the children’s playpark of the seaside town.
Shih Tzu Teddy, who weighs less than 6kg, was being walked by Danielle’s sister, Stacey, when he was attacked by an off-lead dog and sustained life-threatening injuries.
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Following the terrifying incident that lasted nine minutes, tiny Teddy had to undergo radical surgery in a bid to give him a chance of survival. He had a large section of his intestines and a kidney removed, he also sustained crush injuries to his pancreas, his lumbar muscles were torn away from his spine and he suffered severe bruising, plus grip and slash lacerations to his belly from the other dog’s teeth.
And today as his owners, Danielle and Angela, work to nurse him to recovery and hoped-for rehabilitation, they are facing a joint vets' bill of around £7,000 which may rise further.
Danielle, 38, a health worker, said: “Our precious dog is in pain and may never fully recover, and we are in shock too, we’re still in tears and I’m so fearful that at this stage I don’t think I could ever take Teddy out for a walk again. In addition to that we are also in thousands of pounds debt because of the emergency care Teddy needed and although none of this has been of our making but we’re left to pick up the pieces.
“There is something seriously wrong when laws do not adequately protect animals like Teddy or owners like us and that we are left in this mess.”
Danielle explained that Teddy was grabbed by a dog who was being walked off lead in the Co Down town at 9.10am on February 1, and in an instant their lives changed.
She said: “My sister Stacey had been looking after teddy while we were on holiday and she was taking him for a walk after dropping her son to school. As she was walking through Bangor the other dog, a mixed breed about the size of a Labrador, just landed on top of Teddy. He grabbed Teddy by his stomach and repeatedly shook him, then dropped him and turned and attacked again. Teddy was completely silent during the attack, but there were other people in the area and they ran to help him and Stacey.
They shouted and kicked at the big dog and did their best to get it off Teddy but the ordeal lasted a full nine minutes.
“Stacey was knocked to the ground by the dog as it went for Teddy and she injured her head and her leg. She managed to get back up and her friend had taken Teddy’s lead and complete strangers had run to help and finally the other dog was pulled away and a man managed to get Teddy into his arms. He was totally silent throughout the attack, shocked and terrified but he cried out in pain when the man handed him to a woman who was helping put him into Stacey’s coat.”
Teddy’s abdomen was ripped open in the attack and vets at Rathgael Veterinary Clinic promised to do their best but feared the worst for the little pup.
Danielle said: “Stacey had called me and my wife Angela and we raced to the scene and rushed Teddy to our vet Kirsty, but his injuries were horrendous and we were gently warned that we needed to prepare ourselves for the worst outcome, that Teddy would be unlikely to survive the shock of the attack or the injuries, or that he might succumb to infection.”
Vet Kirsty Morrison operated on Teddy at her Bangor base at Rathgael Veterinary Clinic and said his recovery to date had defied the odds. She operated on Teddy for two and a half hours to give him a fighting chance and after coming round from drastic surgery, his survival became a waiting game.
She explained: “Teddy suffered horrific injuries to his abdomen, his body wall was severely ruptured and the risk of infection was very high. But I did everything I could to give him the best chance. He had to have 20cm of intestines removed and also one of his kidneys, and now we'll have to wait to see how other damage and bruising heals.
"He’s such a great wee character and he just wanted to live and once we saw that tail of his wag a little, we knew his chances were improving and five days after suffering a horrendous trauma he was able to go home to be nursed in familiar surroundings. and now we are hopeful that he will recover more.
“His injuries were the worst I’ve worked with in a small dog and initially I was not hopeful that he’d even make it through surgery because of the severity of the injuries, the shock he endured and the risk of infection. But dogs are miracles in themselves and I’m glad to have been a part of his journey to recovery. We will be checking regularly on his progress.”
Danielle said: “Incredibly he pulled through the first night and we started to hope he might be OK. But by day two his bloods were in poor shape and he had to be rushed to Earlswood Vets in Belfast for 24 hours care.
“We started quietly to say our goodbyes to Teddy but hoped and prayed he would fight on and thankfully he did. By day five he was much brighter despite his trauma and shock and the vets thought the best place for him to relax and recover was at home with me and Angela. So we collected him on Tuesday night and he got through his first night at home.
“We hope he will make a recovery, we hope we will get our old teddy back, the loving and affectionate little dog that is the centre of our home. But it’s too early to say what will happen. He is on a lot of medication, he is in pain, he’s still shocked and quite dazed and has lost a lot of weight.
“But we will do everything we can to help him through. This has been the most traumatic time of our lives. Teddy is our responsibility and like a child to Angela and I and anyone who says he’s just a dog just doesn’t understand.
“As responsible owners, he is licenced, chipped, he’s insured and loved, he was being walked on a lead and being looked after properly but we are the ones who have had to deal with this trauma, we are the ones facing vets bills amounting so far to almost £7,000, we are the ones having to help his recovery and rehabilitation and we are the ones devastated by what has happened to him and to us.
“There is a problem of random and serious dog attacks in Northern Ireland that needs to stop. People need to take full responsibility for their pets, they need to be held fully responsible for their pets. They should be walked on the lead in most areas and anyone whose dog attacks another dog should be dealt with by much stricter laws than we have at the moment.
“We will see how the investigation by the council goes into what happened to Teddy and what happens to the person who has responsibility for the dog that attacked Teddy.
“Whatever the outcome, Northern Ireland should be leading the way in how animals are treated and dealt with in society, especially dogs and their owners and everyone should know that actions and inaction must be accounted for.
“People should be able to feel safe with dogs while walking our streets. I do not believe in bad dogs, but I do think that many dogs are let down by owners who do not rear them, keep them or ensure they behave appropriately.
“We nearly lost Teddy in an unprovoked and brutal attack, but thankfully he is still here and he’s fighting on. But myself and my wife and my sister have all lost confidence and peace over what happened to Teddy and we are also left with a massive bill to pay whether he makes a full recovery or not. Things need to change. Responsible people need to be protected and so do their pets.”
North Down DUP MLA Stephen Dunne said: "This is an alarming attack and I really hope that Teddy will pull through after these horrific injuries sustained. The incident must have been very traumatic for Teddy’s owners and something that no pet owner should ever have to witness or experience. There must be greater protections for pets going forward, and I will continue to work with colleagues to bring about positive change and promote better animal welfare."
Patrick Brown from the Alliance Party, said: “This is sadly yet another case of an owner not keeping their animal under control, and nearly killing this poor dog. It's clear that the regulations and penalties around keeping dogs under control are not sufficient and something I will be exploring further as Alliance's Animal Welfare Spokesperson. For now, I’m wishing Teddy a full and speedy recovery from his terrible ordeal.”
A spokesperson for Ards and North Down Borough Council confirmed an investigation is underway. He said: “We take all such reports very seriously and carry out thorough investigations in a timely and robust manner. As this incident is subject to an ongoing investigation, Council is unable to comment further at this time.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to try to help Danielle and Angela meet the costs of teddy’s surgery and care. It can be found by clicking here and following the link.
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