"My dog was tied outside ... there was a pit bull that was loose and attacked my dog. He just jumped on my dog and tore his whole leg just about right off on the front," Gamble said.
While the Ryan Heights resident wasn't home at the time, several neighbours saw the attack and helped pry the pit bull off using sticks, she said.
"I was at my son's. When I came home, ever ybody was outside and my dog was lying on the ground. Right away, I stopped my car and went to my dog," she said.
Gamble took the dog to an animal hospital, where he had surgery Wednesday morning.
"They amputated his left front leg. The whole leg," she said of her dog, called P2 Levesque.
Lloyd McGregor, who lives with Gamble, his caretaker, saw the dog right after the attack.
"I let him out on his leash to go pee. The next thing I know, everybody's pounding on my door. When I got out, the pit bull was gone. The dog was laying in a pool of blood," he said.
Greater Sudbury Animal Control and Shelter Services was called and the pit bull's owner surrendered the dog, which will be euthanized in a few days. "There's always potential that he will attack another dog. That's why we insisted that she surrender the (pit bull)," said
Richard Paquette, the animal shelter manager. "We're waiting to ensure no one has come forward saying the dog bit them. ...
"This is the first time we've ever had the dog in our custody."
The pit bull's owner can be charged under the dog owners liability act, but the animal shelter, which has the power to enforce the act, has yet to finish its investigation. Under the act, pit bull owners must keep their dogs muzzled and on a leash in public, unless the dog is in a secured area, like a fenced-off yard.
"Right now, (the pit bull) doesn't pose any risk because he's in the custody of animal control," Paquette said, adding that police searched the pit bull owner's residence and did not find any other dogs.
Greater Sudbury Police also investigated the attack, although no one has been charged, according to Staff Sgt. Robin Tiplady.
"It initially came in there was a pit bull that had just attacked a small dog. The injured animal was taken to an animal hospital," he said.
Gamble's dog must now play the waiting game. Fresh from surgery, his vets aren't sure if the dog will walk again.
"He'll have to learn to walk. Right now, it's touch and go. They have to wait until he's off the anesthetic to see if he will stand up. He may not be able to walk at all," Gamble said. But she refuses to euthanize her pomeranian.
"I don't want to put him to sleep," she said. "He's my family. I have sons and I have grandchildren, but they don't live with me. This dog here is with me all the time. He's just like my left arm."
(Sudbury Star - Oct 20, 2011)
