By Margaret Maccoll
A walk along Gympie Terrace for one couple last week resulted in a $4000 veterinary bill and weeks of recovery for their little dog.
Rhiannon and her partner sat down to have a coke about 11am on Thursday 3 December with their Jack Russell cross, Billie, on a leash sitting at their feet.
A man was sitting about 10m from them with his staffy cross, also on a leash.
Coincidentally both dog owners rose to leave at the same time.
The staffy just launched at Billie, latched on to her face and wouldn’t let go, Rhiannon said. “It was so sudden. They hadn’t even had a chance to sniff each other.
“I started screaming. My wife was trying to get Billie’s head out of the dog’s jaws. The owner was pulling at the dog. He said don’t touch it’s head, stop screaming. Lots of people came over to help.“
Rhiannon said 8-10 people were trying to prise the dog off Billie, throwing water at it, hitting it with sticks.
“The dog stood there with Billie’s head in it’s mouth. It was a horrible thing to see your dog in that situation,“ she said.
Rhiannon said the stalemate was broken when a man got a bucket of water, put both dogs heads into the water and the dog released Billie.
She said Billie just stood there stunned and bleeding. They rushed her to the vet where she was diagnosed with a broken jaw and detached palate.
The man walked to the car with his dog and the couple are continuing to search for him.
Rhiannon said the vet told them they didn’t have the expertise to fix the injuries and referred them to North Coast Veterinary Specialists where Billie was operated on Friday at a cost of about $4000.
“They managed to fuse her jaw back together with wire,“ she said. “It’ll be six weeks before she gets the wire out.
“We have to keep her pretty quiet and give her lots of pats. We hope it won’t affect her longterm. It’s just a horrible thing to happen to anyone’s dog.
“It was not a cheap trip to the park.“
Rhiannon has reported the incident to Noosa Council and after posting the notice on social media was contacted by about 13 people who came forward as witnesses.
Noosa Council Local Laws officers are investigating the circumstances surrounding the alleged dog attack.
“Council received a complaint of an incident which occurred last Thursday and our officers are currently investigating,” Local Laws manager Phil Amson said.
Mr Amson said information from the public had helped the current investigation.
“Our officers are continuing to gather further information,” Mr Amson said.
“Attacks are distressing for all involved so we again encourage all dog owners to know their responsibilities under the law, to avoid any potential incident.“
