Pit Bull Attacks Seeing Guide Dog in Surrey
Attack "Career Ender" for Seeing Eye DogSurrey, BC - On the tail of a vicious attack that left Sean Bajwa stitched up, a baseball bat wielding man a hero and a mayor headed for a
psych ward, we learn of another pit bull attack. This one involves a pit bull-mix "slipping out" of his collar to attack a guide dog.
Guide dogs can't flee -- guide dogs are harnessed and trained to stay by their human companion, no matter what.
Surrey resident Chris Bublitz and her guide dog Valerie were halfway across the busy street when she heard another dog growling. Witnesses described the dog as a pit bull-mix. The dog attacked Valerie, biting the eight-year-old black Labrador’s forehead and mangling her right ear. Amazingly, Bublitz managed to avoid getting bit.
The pit bull’s owner arrived in moments, swearing at his pet and telling it to come to him. Once the animals were separated, he issued a brief apology, telling Bublitz he was sorry. When the RCMP (BC police) arrived at the scene, they told Bublitz it was a matter for the SPCA, not police, because a human being had not been injured.
20 stitches and $500 bucks in veterinary bills later, Bublitz said her dog will physically recover from her injuries, but the psychological fallout may have left her too nervous to work. Bublitz has been out a few times since the April 26 attack, and has noticed that her formerly calm dog keeps looking behind herself and sometimes suddenly changes directions.
That's $50,000 dollars of dog training down the drain, not to mention a painful transition for the blind person...
Bublitz said that Valerie is scared of other dogs now. She won’t go near them. "It could be a career-ender for her." Bublitz has been told by the Surrey SPCA that the pit bull owner has been fined
$75 dollars and ordered to keep his dog muzzled and on a secure leash. Like many other Surrey residents, she would like to see tougher measures, including an outright pit bull ban.
Related articles:05/09/08:
I Was Almost a Goner Says Sean Bajwa After AttackLabels: chain snap, guide dog
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