Taylor, who is disabled, never imagined she would be fighting for her service dog's life.
Two pit bulls attacked Liebchen at a pet clinic at the Union Gospel Mission in Spokane on Wednesday, causing severe neck and leg injuries to the point the lab couldn't stand or walk.
"They flipped her like a lamb onto the ground and just started to devour her," said Taylor, who lives in Post Falls. "I had on a full set of acrylic nails that were pulled off my hands because I was pulling so hard on one of the dog's neck."
Others helped Taylor fend off the attackers from Liebchen before the pit bulls' owners loaded up their dogs and sped off.
Taylor said the owners showed no remorse over the incident.
The pit bulls came racing out of the vehicle toward Liebchen as soon as the vehicle's door opened.
"They didn't have leashes or collars," Taylor said.
Liebchen has been Taylor's faithful companion for nine years and since she was puppy.
"She tells me when I have optical seizures that lead to migraines," Taylor said. "I depend on her. She follows me everywhere."
Workers at the mission's clinic told Taylor they couldn't assist Liebchen - they don't see animals that have been attacked. So Taylor and her daughter hurried back toward Idaho with Liebchen, having Taylor's son call veterinarians on the way.
Taylor, who lives on a Social Security income of $790 a month, stopped at a vet firm in the Liberty Lake area that used her camera as collateral to clean Libchen's wounds and provide medication.
The $99.78 bill was later put on Taylor's mom's credit card, but Taylor said that neither she nor her mom can afford it. They would also like to see if Liebchen has any broken bones or further injuries that can't be seen as X-rays were not performed.
Liebchen, which is "my love" in German, stood up and walked for the first time since the attack when a reporter rang the doorbell on Thursday.
"She got up," Taylor told her mother, Shirley Thompson, fighting back tears.
Taylor filed a report to SpokAnimal about the attack as advised by police, but hasn't heard if the pit bull owners have been found.
The middle-aged male and female, both white, were in a silver SUV with Washington plates ADF6496.
Taylor, who plans to press charges, said the situation could've been even worse.
"It could have been a child that they attacked," she said. "If those dogs jumped out of that vehicle fast to get this dog, what would they have done to a child?"
(CDAPress - January 13, 2012)
