OHIO -- I don’t know where to start as I heal from a broken heart. My dog — a black-and-white Springer Spaniel/Beagle mix — died after being viciously attacked by dogs at-large on April 20.
“Pippin” was almost 9 and such a good dog! He would go every day with my son a half-mile down the road to get the paper and mail. Although never professionally trained as a helping dog, he understood my son’s needs and gave him the confidence he needed to be independent. And of course, Pippin provided unconditional love. My son often called Pippin, his best friend — his “Snoopy.” My heart goes out to others who have suffered this loss.
Around noon April 18, my neighbor came running from his home after hearing a violent disturbance in my yard. Two pit bulls were attacking our beloved Pippin. This brave young man ran at the dogs — scaring them off with a stick — to rescue my dog and called me at work. I rushed home, rushed Pippin to the vet, and the staff rushed back from lunch — all trying for the next 48 hours to save our dog, our family member. My son was able to see Pippin that day after school not knowing it would be the last time.
When my son was given the news that Pippin had passed away, his first words were, “This should not have happened! I’m so very sad, and forgive me, but so very mad too.”
This is when things began “to fall apart” — to use the words of Sharon Betts who also lost her dog when it was attacked by another — for me too. The dog warden returned the dogs to the owner April 18 after a three-hour search through Autumn Woods, beyond Dakota’s and finally in North Fork Village. They knew at once who the dogs belonged to, as they said these dogs had four prior charges.
I see Pippin’s empty bed every day.
The dogs were reported wandering at 10:30 a.m. April 18, and also attacked a dog on Yaples, which was treated and released to its home and family. One dog still is missing. The same dogs also were reported seen in the area the following day and April 21 on Andersonville Road. These dogs terrorized an almost 10-mile radius, and nothing was done.
I also was not given the chance to tell the judge what happened. The owner did not appear on May 3; did not pay the fine; and has not paid for Pippin or for the other dog’s injuries after telling the dog warden they would.
I live on the bike path. Children and others could have been injured. School children getting off a bus could have been hurt. Yet, these dogs are trained to attack other dogs ... so it is not that serious? What if a young child was trying to protect his or her pet? What happens when we are injured protecting our pets and not directly from the vicious dogs? What justice or protection for the community is in force?
I would propose a “Pippin Alert,” to let the community know that our pet, our family protector and best friend, is at risk. We the owner, our neighbors and community are the guardians of those that give us their unconditional love, and we need to know that we have the support of the authorities in charge to help us care for our extended family — our beloved pets. We need, request and demand action.
I would like to thank all of my family and friends for their cards, words of sympathy and comforting hugs during this time of loss. I especially give thanks to my neighbor for sitting with Pippin until I arrived, placing his blood soaked body in my car — careful not to get his limp, wagging tail caught in the door. Pippin stayed for me, in his pain, as I coaxed him to “hang on.”
Three weeks later my son finally went to get the paper and mail again, quietly sad and with a heavy heart — “It is what Pippin would want me to do.”
Mary Kate Doerres, Chillicothe
(Chillicothe Gazette - May 18, 2013)
