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Website designed & updated by
Maureen Anderson
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Daphne ~
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Daphne & Peggy at the 2003 AHRCO
Reunion |
Peggy
Howell of Newport, Kentucky is a loving pet owner. She is a kind
and gentle woman who is proud of her 3 rescued dogs. An 8
year old Afghan hound, Daphne, a 6 year old poodle Bijou, and
the little 2 year old blind poodle, named Ryker she adopted last fall.
She is also a very responsible pet owner, she walks her dogs daily, and
always picks up after them.
But none of
this mattered on Friday evening, May 13th as Peggy took Daphne, Bijou and
Ryker on their evening walk around her neighborhood. It was a nice
spring evening as they walked past Willie G. Messer's
house at 916 Putnam Street in Newport, Kentucky,
when, without warning they were viciously attacked by a Rottweiler.
8 year old Daphne immediately laid down on the pavement in a submissive
position. Peggy's letter below describes the event.
view
photos of Daphne's injuries |
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Hi
Maureen: Monday, 5/16/05
I have
terrible news. I was walking my three babies Friday after work
as usual when we walked past this one house that we have often walked
by before. They usually have a very aggressive
sounding dog behind a privacy fence. Unfortunately
on this day, he was not behind the fence.
The people who owned him were out front with their little Pekingese type
dog and a very large Rottweiler. Unfortunately though, I didn't even
see him until he came down to attack. The little dog came down and
barked at us, and then the big dog came down and just attacked, no
barking, no warning, no nothing. Daphne had even gotten into a
submissive position with her stomach exposed, and that is where he
bit. I had to scream at the idiots to come down and get him off of her. They
got him off of her, but then he started circling on the other side of
me toward my two little ones. I turned and pushed
him away with my hands, and finally the idiot
people got the dog up into the yard. By the time I
turned around. Daphne had already put her leg across her belly, and
if I tried to touch her she would wale. Nevertheless, she got up and
walked home. Luckily we were only about a block away. I didn't see
the first signs of blood for about half an hour,
and even then it wasn't alot. Shortly after that though, she started acting
like she was going into shock. I got her to the
emergency doctors. By the time we got to the
emergency room, she was shaking, breathing really fast, and the
blood was finally coming out at a pretty fast rate. Her stomach was
soaked, and blood was dripping onto the floor. Because she was in
shock, of course, they had to wait for her condition to stabilize
before they could operate. They finally finished
her surgery around midnight, but I didn't hear
from them until around 2 a.m. because they wanted to
make sure that she was going to come out of the anesthetic and come
around okay. They said she was still in critical condition. The
stomach had not been punctured, but the soft tissues were so
macerated that they had a very difficult time
closing it up. The next morning, of course, I had
to transport her to my regular vet. Her red blood count
has remained relatively stable which is good since they were
concerned that she might need transfusions
originally. Her proteins are good they say. When I
went to see her yesterday though, she was in terrible pain.
With every breath she would whine. The girl there said she had a call
into the Vet to see if she could give her something stronger for
pain. It is so horrible watching her go
through this. I feel so terrible. I am praying
that her pain goes away quickly and she starts to heal, but
she is still in very serious condition at this point.
Peggy |
May
21st Update: Two days ago, Daphne took a turn for the worse.
She spiked a fever and had icterus (pus-like substance in her blood). She
has developed an infection and the vets have started her on a different (IV)
antibiotic. Sadly, their is also evidence of neurological
symptoms in both back legs. She couldn't walk at all Thursday or Friday,
or even get up to a standing position because she couldn't figure out how to
place her feet.
Because
Daphne's current veterinary expenses are approaching $3000 and the owner of the
Rottweiler denies responsibility we have started a "Daphne Fund". When
questioned by the Police, the Rottweiler's owner lied, claiming Daphne was the
aggressor as she was on his property... NOT!!! Daphne
who is one of the most laid-back affies I know, was on a 6' leash, walking with
her companions! Peggy will be pursing legal action, however litigation
takes time and the bills need to be paid now.
Daphne updates
Daphne's wounds
Daphne goes home
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