Gatsby in surgery after vicious attack

[shawnzeppi]

Originally Posted by spr377

So sorry about your little boy! I'm sure the Corgi's owners would be held responsible in the eyes of the law. I didn't understand if you meant the bill was estimated at 6 hundred, or 6 thousand?

$6,000 for starters. That is what they have chaged to date. But there is good news also (more important than the money for me). More in a minute...

[shawnzeppi]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

Same thing happened to my Jilly and I am so sorry it happened again - this time to you and Gatsby. Of course you and your Gatsby are in my prayers. My little Jilly came out fine and wasn't even scared of other dogs after the attack so I pray your baby has a similar great outcome.

Thanks so much. It makes me feel a lot better about it knowing that this has happenend to other Yorkies and that they healed from their injuries. Amazingly enough, there was ANOTHER yorkie in the ER that had just suffered attack from a stray. Its owner was taking it for a walk around Burke Lake here in Northern VA, and a mutt just attacked also without warning. This guy's yorkie was in much better shape than Gatsby (no surgery necessary I believe, since it was out in the waiting room after an exam), but still looked to be a bloody mess. He was going to track down the owners; which he said he could and would do. I just don't understand what could go wrong with these dogs that they have to attack little Yorkies, but I guess they can be screwed up like people with mental illness...

[shawnzeppi]

Originally Posted by Maximo

This was Sunday night and done by an ER....much more expensive, I imagine. Plus, he is in the Washington, DC suburbs. Very expensive up there.

Quite true. There was a big additional fee for it happening on a Sunday night. Even so I was shocked at the estimate but fortunate that I could pay. But it makes me wonder about those who could not affored it. I imagine they would treat him anyhow but I dont know. You sure could save a lot of shelter animals for that kind of fee. But they are not family as Gatsby is to us...

[horsnaround]

So is he doing okay? Sure hope so

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by shawnzeppi

Thanks so much. It makes me feel a lot better about it knowing that this has happenend to other Yorkies and that they healed from their injuries. Amazingly enough, there was ANOTHER yorkie in the ER that had just suffered attack from a stray. Its owner was taking it for a walk around Burke Lake here in Northern VA, and a mutt just attacked also without warning. This guy's yorkie was in much better shape than Gatsby (no surgery necessary I believe, since it was out in the waiting room after an exam), but still looked to be a bloody mess. He was going to track down the owners; which he said he could and would do. I just don't understand what could go wrong with these dogs that they have to attack little Yorkies, but I guess they can be screwed up like people with mental illness...

It is not the dogs...it is their stupid owners. People need to be responsible and control their dogs. I hate these stories...poor little pups getting hurt like this.

Praying for Gatsby.

[shawnzeppi]

Quite true, Lady Jane. Understand the owner is ultimately responsible. I saw the dog last night when I confronted the owners after the attack, and found it hard to blame their stupid dog even with all of those thoughts that run through your head. This Corgi just did not ACT like a dog is supposed to act!

The good news is Gastby is OK and came through surgery well!!! We are going to visit him right after work. It turns out that although the x-ray indications were troubling, we finally had some good luck (and the thoughts and prayers from you guys couldn't hurt either ) and his organs were not punctured. So he has a drain tube in one of the deeper wounds, but he is doing well and we may be able to take him home in the next couple of days.

We are so very happy. He is a beautiful and funny guy and we love him to death, even though he can act aggressive himself at times... Usually when he's freaked out by lawn ornaments he thinks are alive, silly boy. But in this case, I dont think we even got a bark out before he was in this Corgi's jaws.

I have decided to report this to the police (if possible) and animal control, as all have suggested - appreciate the good advise. No matter that these folks are neighbors, and were so upset, you never know how they might react when I try to pass on the bill to them. I wonder if insurance can cover this type of thing?

I dont know what it's going to be like taking care of him after such surgery. If he is not watched, how will we know if he gets into trouble with his drain or hurts himself? Guess we will see what the vets say about that.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by shawnzeppi

Quite true, Lady Jane. Understand the owner is ultimately responsible. I saw the dog last night when I confronted the owners after the attack, and found it hard to blame their stupid dog even with all of those thoughts that run through your head. This Corgi just did not ACT like a dog is supposed to act!

The good news is Gastby is OK and came through surgery well!!! We are going to visit him right after work. It turns out that although the x-ray indications were troubling, we finally had some good luck (and the thoughts and prayers from you guys couldn't hurt either ) and his organs were not punctured. So he has a drain tube in one of the deeper wounds, but he is doing well and we may be able to take him home in the next couple of days.

We are so very happy. He is a beautiful and funny guy and we love him to death, even though he can act aggressive himself at times... Usually when he's freaked out by lawn ornaments he thinks are alive, silly boy. But in this case, I dont think we even got a bark out before he was in this Corgi's jaws.

I have decided to report this to the police (if possible) and animal control, as all have suggested - appreciate the good advise. No matter that these folks are neighbors, and were so upset, you never know how they might react when I try to pass on the bill to them. I wonder if insurance can cover this type of thing?

I dont know what it's going to be like taking care of him after such surgery. If he is not watched, how will we know if he gets into trouble with his drain or hurts himself? Guess we will see what the vets say about that.

That is awesome that there were no internal injuries. The foster I have (Summer) that was recently attacked had none either...she was so lucky. Her case was horrible because the people waited until she was terribly infected before turning her in to animal control.

As for the aftercare.....definitely speak with the vet. We had a cone on Summer so that she could not lick or bite at her sutures. They do heal fairly quickly though.....I think it is the determined terrier in them.!!

So happy for Gatsby...he is so lucky to have such a loving home!!

[ladyjane]

Oh and speaking of cones....one of the YT members ordered a special one for her. The Kiss-E collar. A YTer makes them...her user ID is Mom to Hot Rod. Here is a link about Summer and her collar...

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yt-...ar-summer.html

the collars are very soft and comfy for the pups...you might want to get one now before he comes home!


Here is a link to order a collar if you are interested:

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ne-collar.html

[teacup0819]

I am so happy to hear that Gatsby is recovering from his surgery and that the Corgi didn't puncture any organs...pheww that is a load off your mind. As for his recovery....I would speak to the vet and ask about the possibility of his being boarded/watched during the day at the vets office. I know my vet offers this service to all of the pets needed medical supervision if the owner is not able to stay home. Good luck!!

[KazzyK810]

Always file a police complaint & report it to animal control. It will aid you in your claim for damages and will potentially help any future victims of this dog. Base on your account, this was an unprovoked attack. Chances are this has happened before, but if people don't report it, there is no record of the dog's pattern of behaviour.

Document EVERYTHING! While most owners will cough up a few hundred dollars in a dog attack claim, be prepared to litigate to when the claim is in the thousands of dollars. Do not go by what someone says they will do in such a case....that will most often change as the full extent of the bills come due.

Wishing Gatsby a speedy & complete recovery

[LunasMomma]

Originally Posted by shawnzeppi

Quite true. There was a big additional fee for it happening on a Sunday night. Even so I was shocked at the estimate but fortunate that I could pay. But it makes me wonder about those who could not affored it. I imagine they would treat him anyhow but I dont know. You sure could save a lot of shelter animals for that kind of fee. But they are not family as Gatsby is to us...

WOW, so sorry this happened to your baby Yes, please do file reports with the police AND animal control. AC will go to their house, and will probably recommend to them that they just go ahead and pay the bills, as they would lose in court anyway.

As to the ER treating an animal if you cannot pay----NOPE. They will let your pet die if you can't pay. Can't blame them too much, I guess, as there are lots of folks that would never pay the bill, but then again, I don't know how they could turn their backs on a suffering animal It's very fortunate for Gatsby that you could afford to pay the fees, thank God! The economy has been so bad that we've depleted any reserves we had. When we got our girls about 5 1/2 years ago, we were doing very well and could have afforded an emergency like this, but now---I'm scared to death to take them anywhere in fear of this happening, so they're stuck in our fenced yard with me hovering over them

Please keep us updated on how your boy is doing. Praying for him!

[yorkiemini]

Oh No! Awful news, but am encouraged by the outcome. Yes those ER clinics are expensive, but then so often they are all we can do.

Recently had a similar thing happen - no to my Cali, but to the other dog that we were taking our walk with (two ladies thinking getting together every evening to walk out dogs together would be good exercise for all of us) and this dog came out of no where and grabbed her puppy -- we fought it off, but much blood dog bites to both of us and screaming, then rushed to the ER.

Bottom line $7000, but the puppy will be scarred, but OK - had surgery and is recovering at home how. I encouraged her to report the dog (we knew who owned the dog) to the police and AC. She hated to do that because they are, after all neighbors of many years. However, when they got the bill she knew she could not pay that kind of money. She went to talk with the attacking dogs owners and the response was not what one would hope for -- they refused to pay anything -- their dog was off leash and running loose.

My friend had to get an attorney (meanwhile, the ER clinic is after her for their money) and go to court - ugly -- one of the saving graces was that she had a witness, me, and that really helped carry the day! Had I not been there it would have been much harder for her case as many allegations against the puppy were made -- I even carried my bloody shoes in a bag to the court room, just in case. I know it sounds bad but I had my cell phone and took tons of pictures at the scene and at the hospital. That was a real deciding factor for the judge -- the pictures were awful.

Things are somewhat stressed in the neighborhood -- some neighbors thinking they should pay, and some thinking they should not have to, but the puppy will make it and hopefully fence mending can take place over the years. Don't know what else to say - except be sure to turn the incident into the police and AC!

[shawnzeppi]

Originally Posted by yorkiemini

...Recently had a similar thing happen - no to my Cali, but to the other dog that we were taking our walk with...

Wow. Excellent advise. Who would have thought of getting pictures when you are on the way to the ER in an emergency? But it sure did work for you. I agree you were very lucky there were 2 of you in your case, and you could serve as a witness. In my case, there were plenty of other witnesses, unfortunately, ALL of them were family of the of Corgi! Does that mean we will have a problem? Don't know. I will call Animal Control to come over tonight. Thanks so much for sharing that horrible and similar story. Again, I have no indication that these neighbors will stray from the truth, and the owner was so appologetic. Although other members of the family were watching football and cleared out when we dropped by last night. We'll see. The owner saw the initial bill and she still provided contact information after the shock set in. It may cause hard feelings, but I know if it were my dog that did that, I would take responsibility unless I was destitute!

BUT we are getting my little boy back tonight!!!!!!

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by shawnzeppi

Wow. Excellent advise. Who would have thought of getting pictures when you are on the way to the ER in an emergency? But it sure did work for you. I agree you were very lucky there were 2 of you in your case, and you could serve as a witness. In my case, there were plenty of other witnesses, unfortunately, ALL of them were family of the of Corgi! Does that mean we will have a problem? Don't know. I will call Animal Control to come over tonight. Thanks so much for sharing that horrible and similar story. Again, I have no indication that these neighbors will stray from the truth, and the owner was so appologetic. Although other members of the family were watching football and cleared out when we dropped by last night. We'll see. The owner saw the initial bill and she still provided contact information after the shock set in. It may cause hard feelings, but I know if it were my dog that did that, I would take responsibility unless I was destitute!

BUT we are getting my little boy back tonight!!!!!!

[TeacupLove]

REPORT IT RIGHT AWAY!!!! This happened to my little guy and I wish I had reported it right away. The people who own the corgi could tell you they will pay you and then jerk you around like the guy that promised me he would pay me for the medical bills. So yes report this right away. I'm so sorry for your little man I hope all goes well with him. Warm wishes and prayers for your family and your baby.