Miniature poodle mauled by a pit bull at dog park

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My mom walked the family dog to the dog park, he ran up to greet a dog and it grabbed he and shook him like a rag doll.

My mom was screeching and finally got him out of the dogs jaws as the owner wrestled his dog from attacking my mom
she ran off and didn’t bother getting info about who it was.

Dog has now been going into the vet on and off for a month, has gaps in the spine and the vet was just giving him a temporary cockail of 3 relaxers and pain killers

On the pain killers he couldn’t shake like he normally would without a yip, he would be walking normally then stop and screech for a few minutes.

The drugs were temporary and the vet is expensive without any plan, so he has run out of drugs and we can’t get him to move he sits his rear down and won’t move for a long period, if you pick him up carefully or have to brush or wash him there’s a good chance he will start screeching and become immobile.

We have no idea what to do or how to handle him, I’m angry my mom didn’t get the bastards info as he should be paying for everything and his dog should be put down.

My dog will likely need to be put down if we can’t get him able to go potty and eat.
 
I'm so sorry....how awful. Just please please please remember to take the suffering into account when you decide whether or not he continues on in this life. Please try to put aside what you want and concentrate on what he needs. What you're describing sounds like true agony. My heart goes out to that poor little soul.
 
I don't trust off-leash dog parks. Too many irresponsible dog owners take their unstable dogs to them.
I also don't trust pit bulls (or pit bull mixes), some of them can turn violent and dangerous without warning, even if they don't have a vicious temperament. There is a valid reason for why so many communities/municipalities/HOAs ban them and some homeowner's insurance policies won't cover them.
 
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Go to the citiy council and advocate they ban that breed.

We had a old lady that was killed by a specific breed of dog, trying to break up a dog fight. That breed was banned for some time, now they require a fee and a certification note if you own one of that breed.
 
Sorry to hear that. Time to put him down though. Long road of expensive vet visits and not good quality of life for the dog.

Getting the guy's info wouldn't mean much. Your mom would be suing him after all of the vet bills would be paid, that would be a long time from now. And that doesn't mean he'd end up paying anyways.

I also would never take my dog to a mixed size dog park. Here we have dog parks with 2 pens, one for small dogs and one for large.
 
Not a fan of dog parks myself. Every time I've ever been I've seen concerning behavior that wasn't being addressed. Not every dog is a dog park kinda dog but the owners often seem oblivious to their pets behavior until something terrible like this happens. I won't condemn the pitbull breed over it as the overwhelming majority are great dogs. I will however condemn careless owners who just buy them to look macho and then put them into bad situations where things like this can happen. I hope your pup gets well soon. I know how important mine are to me so it's a tough situation that you are in.
 
I'm so sorry....how awful. Just please please please remember to take the suffering into account when you decide whether or not he continues on in this life. Please try to put aside what you want and concentrate on what he needs. What you're describing sounds like true agony. My heart goes out to that poor little soul.
If my father were alive the pitbull would be dead and after seeing the first vet bill Sam would be put down as well, I have some hope he may recover from at least the pain.

The trouble is he will be normal for over a week then have 3 bad days after something minor then repeat
after the malling he was dazed , confused, lethargic but would go on walks and behave normally. He was wearing a harness and jacket (no leash) and didn’t even get a skin puncture

I know others who have gone to a decent vet and got the dog fixed up after a spinal injury where the dog recovers but here in the Wausau area I don’t have a clue where to find a competent vet, the vet was hoping after a couple weeks of relaxers they could put him in therapy but what therapy they don’t seem to know and they don’t seem to be very competent, they insisted on giving him a rabies shot because he was due and then he was messed up again after that
 
My mom walked the family dog to the dog park, he ran up to greet a dog and it grabbed he and shook him like a rag doll.

My mom was screeching and finally got him out of the dogs jaws as the owner wrestled his dog from attacking my mom
she ran off and didn’t bother getting info about who it was.

Dog has now been going into the vet on and off for a month, has gaps in the spine and the vet was just giving him a temporary cockail of 3 relaxers and pain killers

On the pain killers he couldn’t shake like he normally would without a yip, he would be walking normally then stop and screech for a few minutes.

The drugs were temporary and the vet is expensive without any plan, so he has run out of drugs and we can’t get him to move he sits his rear down and won’t move for a long period, if you pick him up carefully or have to brush or wash him there’s a good chance he will start screeching and become immobile.

We have no idea what to do or how to handle him, I’m angry my mom didn’t get the bastards info as he should be paying for everything and his dog should be put down.

My dog will likely need to be put down if we can’t get him able to go potty and eat.
So sorry, Pit Bulls are loyal to their owners but savage other dogs, I had an experience with Gacie our ****zu and a Pit, Gracie was never off lease but the pit scared her almost to death, she would shiver like crazy. I will pray for you and your family and the puppy
 
Sorry about the dog. Years ago our 85 pound Rottweiler was at the dog park chasing a ball with a bunch of other dogs including one bull terrier type breed. Everything was fine and then all of the sudden the pit bit her between the shoulder blades and shook her around like she was a 5 pound dog. She was helpless, feet off the ground and the dog just shaking her. This only lasted a few seconds as I was making my way over and the owner got her to stop. She didn’t have any damage or even blood somehow but the owner left quickly. It was scary how strong that other dog was and I can only imagine if our dog were smaller what would’ve happened. That was our last visit to a dog park.

Hope you guys do what is best for the dog.
 
So sorry to hear! That's an awful experience and has left you in a very uncomfortable situation. Given your description about him being good for a week or so, I do think there's the chance he will recover, but these things take time. It's unfortunate you don't have a competent vet in your area.
 
So sorry to hear! That's an awful experience and has left you in a very uncomfortable situation. Given your description about him being good for a week or so, I do think there's the chance he will recover, but these things take time. It's unfortunate you don't have a competent vet in your area.
There might be but it’s hard to know, just getting an appointment with any vet is a challenge
the go to folks left/retired during the pandemic :(
 
so sorry for your experience, + i had my little Bischon attacked by a pit that jumped over a 5' fence, but we were lucky!! i grabbed the pit by his collar when he had my dog + i guess the pulling opened its mouth + checkers my - girlfriends dog got away with one small bite, meanwhile a woman at the house came out + called the dog off, prolly lucky for me as i was dragged 20' while holding on the collar. i turned in a report to the dog warden + police + our Checkers is alive + well at 11 YO. today i carry a strong spray plus as you cant always tell if a strange dog is friendly or not!! we walk daily + have had other incidents, mostly mild but ALL reported + followed up from a visit from our fine dog warden!! we love our dogs like children for the joy they give us, not to mention encouraging a much needed form of exercise we ALL need!!
 
Wow, what a range of interesting comments.
I REALLY feel for the OP. Im a bit older now, have had many pets in my life, but none of them hold a candle to our present dog, might sound weird but he is my best friend. A 30 Lb Schnodle (Schnauzer/Poodle) and I just love the guy. My wife kids her friends, if we ever have a bad storm/tornado, she is going to chain herself to the dog because she knows Ill save the dog.

I hate to say it, but the OP moms dog sounds like its in a lot of pain, dogs dont normally show pain like humans until it is severe so it must be really bad. If there is no hope for this dog to remove that pain from its life then I do feel the right thing to do is sadly let him leave this world so he can be in peace.

Our own experience, we got more lucky with our dog. He came down with an uncontrollable glaucoma July 2021. First one eye, many doctors including an animal eye specialist, eye was going to have to be removed, in the meantime they were throwing every kind of drug known to the second eye to try to save it as pressure was building up.
I went to bed the day before his surgery to have the first eye removed, it was a Sunday night. He was on all kinds of meds and pain killers.
I honestly didnt know if he was going to live through the night, I never saw him so weak, motionless, helpless.

He made it through the night, first eye removed, doctors said the pressure was so great the night before that the eye actually burst/ruptured.
Operation a success. However, we were told at the time the other eye has the same problem and will have to be removed.
We were crushed emotionally, I cant put. into words. At the same time, for my wife, it was ok if it would end his pain, he was so lethargic and normally acts like a puppy.
We had to wait three days for the surgery as they were too concerned about putting him under anesthesia so soon after the first operation.

SO what I am trying to say, my wife was best at this, when other family members thought we should just put him down so he can be at peace, my wife (and I agreed) could care less about what others thought, for her, it was solely to remove the pain which it did. On top of that, one of his doctors told us how well his breed does being totally blind. We never imagined having a blind dog and he is the most AMAZING animal I have ever seen, NO ONE even knows he is blind until we tell them.

What I am trying to convey, in our case we had a course of action that removed the pain. Our dog is his old self, completely blind and completely happy, even plays just like a puppy, his toys have bells in them, HE WALKS us around our community, I dont know how but he even knows where to cross the intersections. HE goes completely nuts when my son and daughter (now off in the world on their own) come to the house to visit. All I have to do is mention their names and he goes nuts.

In your case, the outcome seems so "foggy" based on what you wrote, there doesnt ever seem to be a course of action that will remove his pain where he can be happy again and if there is no hope to remove the pain, then maybe its best to let him go in peace.

Good luck with your decision.

(yeah, dog parks, you know, off the top of my head, I dont think someone would intentionally bring their dog to a dog park if they knew their dog would be a danger, I know I wouldnt and as much as we ourselves at times thought about bring our dog we always were too scared too.
Both of other dogs and felt our dog was kind of possessive of my wife and I too)
 
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Wow! That’s a bit harsh.
No doubt, definitely harsh, this could happen with any breed and was totally unexpected. Everyone makes mistakes and I am sure lessons were learned in this case already. I see no point in adding salt to the mix.
To the OP I’m very sorry to hear about this. As a pit bull owner I can assure you this is not how all of them are. I’ve raised mine right from day one and he loves to play with other dogs.
 
How frustrating. The other dogs owner should be paying for this. There isn’t a whole lot you can do about that now, so just make the best of what the situation is now.
 
Sure, the pit bull owner was partially to blame. But idiots like that pit bull owner are allowed in the dog park and you are not empowered to regulate which dogs and dog owners are allowed. So the only sensible choice available to you is to avoid that dog park, because you cannot be sure whether bad dogs and bad dog owners will be there.
Any owner of a dog that mauls another dog at an open dog part is by definition completely to blame. Or are you arguing the poodle threatened the pit bull and provoked the attack?

And you're back again I see.
 
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