Allison Vidro, the daughter of Tango’s owner, said she was riding the pony through a public trail in Walworth when she saw two unleashed dogs, a Pit bull and Black Lab, came running toward them.
The Pit bull then allegedly attacked the horse.
“It tore the muzzle apart,” said Lea Dill, a Walworth Animal Control Officer. “Lacerations on the side, bite marks on the chest and legs. Her muzzle did have big staples in it to hold it together and everything. At that time, the horse took off because of the attack and Allison fell off her horse."
Allison's mother, Laurie Vidro, saw Tango galloping down the road with a dog chasing the horse, with her daughter no longer in the saddle. Allison was down the road with another dog, a chocolate lab that was associated with the incident, as the horse, with a pit bull dog in tow, entered the Vidro’s property.
Allison had not been seriously injured after being thrown, meanwhile Tango was still being chased by the pit bull. Laurie ran towards the horse screaming “Stop it, stop it!”.
The dog’s owner pulled up in a car. “Your dog just attacked my daughter and my horse, she said.”
BLAME VICTIM
In response, the Pit Bull's owner said, “Your horse kicked my dog.” The dog’s owner has been identified as William R. Berdeck, age 34, of 3046 Chili Avenue in Rochester.
Meanwhile, Trooper Jordan Szklany, responded to a report of two dogs attacking a horse in the vicinity of 4384 Canandaigua Road in Walworth. He located and secured the chocolate lab, then observed the second dog, a black pit bull, still actively pursuing the horse in an open field.
"A good Samaritan had picked up Allison after her fall,” Dill said. “The dog pursued Tango in his pasture trying to attack him more. A trooper arrived and finally commanded the dog to stop and the dog complied."
“I yelled at the dog to stop and [it] complied. I then observed the horse to have large lacerations on its throat and muzzle,” wrote the Trooper in his statement.
OWNER FLED WITH BITE DOG
Allison was then able to get Tango and put her in her stall. The owner put his dog in the car and left in the same direction of the trail.
“When I rounded the corner, the scene was horrific. My daughter was kneeling down in Tango’s stall staring up at several severe open, flesh hanging, blood dripping wounds all over Tango’s face, chest and front legs.
Tango’s breathing labored and she was drenched in sweat. Laurie feared she would collapse from exhaustion alone from being chased for so long.
SURPRISED OWNER (REALLY "IN DENIAL OWNER")
While waiting for the vet to arrive, the dog owner contacted Laurie by phone to tell her how "wonderful" his dog is and he has "never seen it act like this before" and to keep him posted.
“I did not know what to say except my pony was in very bad shape and my daughter and I were devastated.
The vet arrived and it took her approximately four hours, anesthesia, pain medication, multiple injections of Novocain and approximately 70 stitches and staples to put the pony back together.
The dog's owner Bill Berdeck claims the Pit bull was on a leash and broke free when he saw the horse. He said his four-year-old Pit Bull is “friendly and sweet and this has never happened before.”
According to Walworth Animal Control Officer, Lea Dill, the pit bull owner will be required to pay the vet bills and the Walworth Judge will determine the fate of the dog.
VIDEO NEWS CLIP:
(Wayne Times - Nov 4, 2017 and 13WHAM)
Earlier:
The good news - the pit owner will be required to pay the vet bills.
ReplyDeleteThe bad news - I've known horses who were attacked by pits. They're never the same again. Spooky and always on edge. Hoping this pony will recover its nerve well. Same for the rider.