But never in his worst nightmares did he see it happening like this.
Dacky was mauled to death Wednesday morning by four much larger dogs while she and Haupt were in the north end of Etobicoke’s Centennial Park for a little air and exercise.
Haupt, feeling it was safe, had unleashed Dacky to give her a bit of freedom. Unbeknownst to him, another dog owner, approaching but still out of sight, did the same with his four canines — dogs Haupt describes as large mastiffs.
A teary-eyed Haupt told the Toronto Sun Thursday he heard a sickening yelp from Dacky, turned, and saw that one of the four dogs had chomped down on her.
Dacky fell, and the others pounced on her and began tearing at the small dog, he said.
“After the second bite, she was for sure dead,” said Haupt, who two years ago nursed an aging Dacky through a debilitating lower back injury and took to grooming her himself.
Haupt, who’s single and has no children, says he “never loved anything more than this dog.”
“I knew eventually (Dacky would die), but I didn’t want it (to) end that way. My little dog. She loved everybody. She was so friendly.”
He says the salt in the wound came when the other owner, after finally regaining control of his four animals, simply walked off.
Having an arthritic leg, there wasn’t much Haupt could do about that. He scooped his lifeless Dacky up off the ground and took her to his vet to confirm what he already knew.
As of Thursday night, officials with Toronto Animal Services were searching for the owner of the four canine attackers.
Animal Service’s Elizabeth Glibbery described the suspect as white, between 30 and 40, and quite tall. When found, she said, he will face “a number of charges,” including one under the province’s Dog Owners Liability Act.
She confirmed the suspect dogs are believed to be mastiffs or corso.
“We are trying to track (the owner) down and we are pretty sure we’re going to have some information available in the next 24 hours.”
A photo of the attack snapped by a witness was handed over to Toronto Police, Glibbery said.
(Toronto Sun - March 11, 2016)
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