WARNING: This story contains graphic images
The city is investigating after a Calgary woman and her small dog were attacked by two larger dogs last week in what the senior is calling a “terrifying” experience.
Sharon Beaton tells CityNews she was walking with her chihuahua, Daisy, on Aug. 22 around 7 p.m. near her Thorncliffe home when the pair were targeted by two other dogs.
She says she was able to run over to a truck and lean on it for stability, while one dog tried to rip Daisy out of her arms and the other latched onto her hand.
“They were probably 60 to 70 pounds each, and I’m only 120,” says Beaton.
A man got out of his truck and restrained one of the dogs while another man stepped in to corner the second dog, but not before Beaton and her pet were injured.
With the help from the two strangers, she was able to run to a nearby house, where an off-duty paramedic at the home tended to her wounds.
“He took me in, he was a paramedic and started first aid,” said Beaton, whose hand was bitten during the attack. “The whole thing was traumatizing. I still visualize it every minute of the day.”
As Beaton and Daisy heal from their wounds, she and her husband are heaping praise on the actions of the people who stepped in to help, including the off-duty paramedic.
“Those people are absolute heroes,” says Beaton’s husband Burt van Bekkum. “Who else would have ran to the aid of my wife?”
“If it weren’t for those two people it would have been way worse,” Beaton says. “I don’t think I would have been able to fight them off.”
Van Bekkum says its been an emotional journey for the couple and the vet bills, which are now at $7,000, are tough on the pensioners.
Beaton says she is now waiting on bylaw to see if they can find the dogs or the owner.
The city confirms the dogs are not in custody, but a thorough investigation is underway “with the safety of all animals and individuals involved a top priority.”