Chihuahua attacked, carried off by owl, family says | MLive.com
TRAVERSE CITY, MI – A 5-pound Chihuahua named Pippa is recovering at home after what the family described as an owl attack early Thursday.
The attack happened about 4:30 a.m. after 2-year-old Pippa headed outside for an early morning bathroom break, said owner Tara Send, 45.
Send and her son, Forest Walters, were in their living room, with Send keeping an eye on Pippa through the sliding door, said Walters, 22. Then, in the course of a few moments – just long enough for Walters to read an email and Send to look away – Pippa was gone from the yard, but yelping.
“It was horrible screaming,” Send said. “I ran outside the door of the porch and was just following where I heard her screaming from.”
Particularly alarming were the location of Pippa’s cries, said Walters. He said the yelps were coming from the sky - and quickly moving farther away.
Send followed the commotion and found Pippa on her back on the top of a hill, about 200 to 300 feet from the porch, Send and Walters said.
“She was just a little bloody ball,” Send said.
Pippa bit, scratched and struggled against Send as she attempted to bring the dog back into the house.
Pippa likely didn’t know what had happened and thought she was still fighting her attacker, Send said.
Walters and Send, who was still shoeless and wearing pajamas, then drove Pippa to the 24-hour
Bay Area Pet Hospital, which they credit with saving the dog’s life.
Pippa suffered at least four puncture wounds to her left side, several more to her right side and belly, and scratches, Walters said. He said he’s glad those are the only injuries and that his dog’s heart didn’t stop out of pure fear.
After speaking with the veterinarian, the family is fairly certain the Chihuahua was attacked by an owl, based on the puncture wounds and time of day, Walters said.
“We make fun of her because she’s feisty, but that fire within her saved her life,” Walters said.
Still, Walters said Pippa’s wounds go deeper than the puncture wounds. Despite her pain medication making her woozy, the Chihuahua is extremely anxious and seems scared of everything – including Send’s seven children.
Send said Pippa has had trouble sleeping, staying wide-eyed in her bedroom. But Send won’t let anything else happen to her dog.
She plans to keep Pippa on a leash anytime they are outside from now on, and encourages others with small pets to do the same.
“It sounds like common sense but it’s something we should have given more thought,” Send said.
For now, the family is glad the ordeal ended as happily as it could have.
“It was the worst possible way you could start a day,” Walters said. “She’s a part of this family. We would have been lost without her.”