An Aberdeen dog owner has been hit with a £5,000 vet bill after her pooch was allegedly attacked on a city playing field by another dog.
Toni Bennett was walking her nine-month-old pup Ziggy near the Sheddocksley Sports Centre when a dog charged across the field towards them.
Miss Bennett recalls seeing her cavapoochon puppy running away and yelping for help before being attacked.
A couple out walking their own dogs had stopped to help the distressed nursery practitioner.
Miss Bennett says that the owner of the other dog managed to get it off, but left Ziggy covered in blood.
The 24-year-old was in shock so one of the dog walkers called her mum, Sandra Ceylan, and his partner called the police.
‘He’s in the best hands now’
Miss Bennett has praised the couple who walked her to the car park where her mum was waiting to take them to the emergency vets.
She said: “If no one was there to help me I don’t know what I would have done, it was very traumatic.
“I don’t even know how to describe how I felt, it was horrific.
“Ziggy was covered in blood and dog saliva and I could feel his rib had gone inside, like he had a broken rib.”
It was found that Ziggy has a punctured lung and needs reconstructive surgery on his chest. He also has something wrong with his shoulder and the vets do not know the extent of his internal injuries.
The cavapoochon also has hemorrhages in his eyes and it is thought he may have a heart murmur.
Miss Bennett and her mum needed to take the puppy to the specialist vet in Livingston for treatment.
They left Aberdeen at 5.30am this morning after their vet made sure he was stable enough for the two-hour journey.
“He was wrapped in clingfilm and on painkillers,” Miss Bennett explained. “They had to drain his lungs – the clingfilm stops air getting in.
“It was a very stressful two-hour car journey to Livingston just to make sure he was ok. But, we got there in one piece and he’s in the best hands now.”
Miss Bennett and her mum were advised to go home and wait while he is in ICU awaiting his CT scan.
Last night they paid around £1,500 at the emergency vets and they have now been told his treatment at the Livingston specialist vet could cost up to £5,000.
A family friend set up a GoFundMe page to help them pay for his lifesaving specialist treatment.
Two men arrested in connection
The police visited Miss Bennett and asked for a statement.
Two men, aged 34 and 26, have since been arrested in connection with the alleged attack, as well as a separate “serious assault” five minutes later on the same playing fields.
A police spokeswoman confirmed: “Around 8.45 pm on Monday, September 6, a woman reported that her cavapoochon dog had allegedly been attacked and seriously injured by a Staffordshire pit bull terrier in the Sheddocksley Playing Fields.
“In a separate incident, but nearby, around 8.50pm, police were called after a 35-year-old man was allegedly seriously assaulted also within the playing fields. He was taken by ambulance to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary where he remains for treatment.”
Inquiries into both incidents are currently ongoing.
Meanwhile, Ziggy is thought to be in a stable condition but his owners are now anxiously waiting for the vet to phone with an update.
Miss Bennett said: “We just need to hope for the best.”
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