It's been five weeks and we were finally able to take the splint off my dog's leg. Looks good for now. It's feeeble and sore, but she's building some strength in it. So that's the good news.
The left eye is another matter. She gets an ointment in it six times a day because she is not able to completely close it. Also the pupil remains dilated. Vet says there's too much cranial nerve damage to expect much improvement from here. We're giving her a rest, but we'll probably do a surgery to reduce the size of her eyelid and allow it to close moe normally next week.
Neighbors report that the pits have not been seen since the landlord gave notice. Still they are not completely satisfied with this solution, because the dogs may have just ended up with some other young and dumb people and become a problem elsewhere.
Met a woman whose horse was attacked by pitbulls. Some people from LA were visiting one of her neighbors. The dogs were left in a garage, but they broke out and took off across her pasture.
A woman driving along the highway saw the attack. One pit was latched onto the horse's nostrils the other was attacking the horse's legs. The witness said the horse was flinging it's head with the pitbull flying. This incident was reported in the local newspaper and I'll see if I can find the article.
By Dave Moller, davem@theunion.com
January 4, 2006
Two more attacks on livestock by pit bull dogs have been reported from the Cedar Ridge-Peardale area since an initial report made last week of an attack on a horse.
Gary Shannon, who lives on Tiger Lily Lane off Rattlesnake Road, said Tuesday that two pit bulls almost killed his llama Dec. 22. One of the same dogs also killed a chicken belonging to his neighbors the week prior, he said.
Susan Sarantopoulus of Peardale thinks those pit bulls are different from the pair that attacked her horse Christmas Eve morning, leaving a gash in its shoulder and bite marks. Sarantopoulus said thanks to a story in The Union and some subsequent phone calls, she was able to find the owner of the dogs that attacked her horse, Angel.
"They will take care of the vet's bill," said Sarantopoulus, adding that she was also able to discern that those two dogs were not in the area until Dec. 23, the day after Shannon's nearly 3-year-old llama, Avalanche, was attacked.
Shannon said neighbor Kurt Jackson witnessed the attack and when he came upon the pit bulls, one of them almost had the llama on the ground.
"If Kurt hadn't shot at it, it would killed the llama," Shannon said. He said anyone in his area with a pit bull that has buckshot in it, might now know what happened to the dog.
Shannon said the llama is recovering from bite wounds to the neck and the left front leg. The llama's ear was almost torn off in the attack, but it was saved.
"My wife and I put a sign at the top of our road to warn people," Shannon said.
Jackson's wife, Daphne Jackson, said a pit bull recently followed her to her house. Once there, it attacked the family's chickens "and we had to put one of the chickens down," because of its wounds.
Horses attacked by two pit bulls Owner seeks information about dogs
________________________________________ ________________________________________ By Dave Moller
davem@theunion.com December 31, 2005
A Peardale woman is looking for two pit bull dogs who attacked her horses on Christmas Eve.
Susan Sarantopoulos wants to know why the two dogs were allowed to roam into her pasture on Meadow Drive just off Highway 174 while she was away for Christmas. They injured a 2-year-old wild mustang who was protecting her 25-year-old Arabian from the dogs.
"If they attacked the horses, what would they do to a child or a large person?" Sarantopoulos asked. "For those dogs to attack the horses is really aggressive, I think."
The mustang received a 21 inch wound to its left shoulder and bites to its nose and a rear leg during the attack. The Arabian was not injured.
"I would like to get the story out so that these dogs can be caught before they attack other animals or possibly humans," Sarantopoulos said. "The (neighbors) involved in trying to get the dogs from the horses were lucky that they were not attacked."
One of those people was Bill Sumner, who saw the dogs run into the pasture from a nearby hill.
"The next thing I knew they were chasing the horses in the pasture, barking and nipping at them," Sumner said. "We yelled at them and made the dogs go away."
Sarantopoulos said the Nevada County Animal Control Office was called but was unable to respond due to short holiday staffing.
"Basically, if someone saw the attack and can identify the dogs, it should be reported to us," said Lt. Ron Earles at the Animal Control office, an arm of the Nevada County Sheriff's Department. "People should know they also have a right to defend their animal."
Earles said animal owners should cause a commotion if other animals attack them, in order to divert the attackers' attention. People should also keep their dogs close to home, Earles said.
"Too many dogs pay with their lives because of their owners," Earles said. "It's sad."
http://tu.us.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=TU&Date=20051231&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=112310083&Ref=AR&maxw=180
Susan Sarantopoulos and her daughter Stephanie tend to Angel, a 2-year-old wild mustang that was attacked by two pit bulls recently. The Union photo/David B. Torch
Good to hear your pup is doing better. Did the Pit owners ever help with the vet bills?