“All I can remember at that point was screaming. The dog was shaking him and I was hitting him with Beau’s retractable leash, but he wouldn’t let go,” she recalled.
“He shook my dog so hard, Beau’s little red jacket came right off and got caught on his leash,” Paul told The Telegram Thursday.
It happened on Saturday, Jan. 3, when Paul and her almost three-year-old black shih tzu went to Bowring Park for a walk.
She said when they approached the trail, there were several people — with pit bulls — standing around talking. Paul said she didn’t pay much attention and she and Beau went on their way.
“The next thing I know, this pit bull came running up behind me and before I could bend down to grab Beau, he had him in his mouth,” she said.
“I heard him growling from behind me, but I didn’t have time to react. He wasn’t muzzled or on a leash,” Paul recalled.
“My poor little dog just went to the ground. I thought he was dead. I thought the pit bull was after breaking his neck. He never made a sound. Never moved,” she said.
A man who had been with the pit bulls ran to the rescue.
When Paul took Beau to the vet, which cost her almost $400, she was relieved to find out he didn’t have any life-threatening injuries. However, he was in shock and beat up.
The doctor said if Beau hadn’t been wearing his red coat, the pit bull likely would have killed him, Paul said.
Before she left the park to take him to the vet, Paul said, she exchanged contact information with the owner, Wendy Karaoglu, and found out the pit bull was one of seven that had been abandoned last year in a home in Conception Bay South and later rescued.
They had been in the park that day for a reunion.
Paul said the dog’s name is Sage and his owner was understanding and even offered to pay for the vet bill. However, for weeks, she’s been trying to get Karaoglu to respond to her messages, with no success, Paul said.
“I know its only $365, but I don’t have $365. I work and have to pay bills like everyone else. I had to put it on my credit card,” said Paul.
As a precaution, Paul called the RNC when she got home. An officer showed up and took her statement.
RNC media relations officer Const. Steve Curnew confirmed Thursday the matter is under investigation.
Feeling defeated, Paul took the matter into her own hands and went to provincial court to file a civil suit against Karaoglu, but was told she needed her mailing address.
That’s when she posted an ad on kijiji, an online classified website, Feb. 13, looking for her.
“This woman’s pit bull attacked my shih tzu in Bowring Park and walked away from the vet bill, anyone who would have a mailing address for her please contact me. We all have to take responsibility for our pets! Thank you for your help,” says the posting.
As of Thursday, there had been 77 views, but no luck with finding an address.
(The Telegram - Feb 19, 2015)
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