Family dog missing overnight attacked by a human, vet says

CANADA -- A young Siberian husky that turned up terribly injured at its Fraser Valley home was likely attacked by a person, not an animal, the veterinarian who tended to the dog says.

The family of two-year-old Sabre says the dog went missing Tuesday from their home in Chilliwack, B.C. Owner Lisa-Marie Shymkowich said the family dog turned up the next morning, and was just lying on the driveway.

"I went running outside, in my pajamas and he was ... we were just doing an assessment, of what was going on, and that's when we noticed all the gruesome injuries," she said.

"Just meat, just like, it was just a raw flesh smell. It was awful. It was horrible, and the blood was gushing out from his paw and his bone was exposed. It was horrible."

Sabre was brought to Cheam View Veterinary Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgeries for over four hours.

Dr. Kuldeep Chahall, who tended to the dog, said Sabre had broken bones on his paws and wrists, lacerations all over his body and a ruptured testicle.

Chahal says because of the complicated nature of the dog's injuries, and the lack of animal-fight wounds such as teeth marks, it is likely that Sabre was hurt by a person, not an animal.

The Shymkowichs say they filed a complaint with Chilliwack RCMP, but haven't heard anything back.

And while the family hopes someone will come forward with information on what happened to Sabre, they are grateful that the community has already rallied to support them.

A Facebook post by a friend of the couple triggered a flood of donations to help pay for the dog's extensive treatment.

The couple hopes to bring Sabre home soon but are still awaiting test results. In the meantime, they say they're lucky to have brought him to a place that was so caring and able to save him.

(CBC - Oct 19, 2013)