Pooch Attacked in Yard
Akron
Beacon Journal Tuesday, June 28, 2005
By Jeffrey E. McCants, Beacon Journal staff writer
TALLMADGE,
OH- Beverly Snyder, 65, of Tallmadge said she can't think of any
reason why someone would want to hurt her dog, Romeo.
She
said the 5-year-old German shepherd mix has never had any problems
with neighbors and is always chained in her back yard.
But
someone attacked the dog last Wednesday.
Snyder
said she heard Romeo whimpering in the back yard that evening. When
she looked outside, she saw the dog limping around the yard, attempting
to sit down. After further inspection, Snyder found that three digits
of the dog's left rear paw had been severed.
``I
just came in and called the vet,'' Snyder said. ``We put him in
the car and got him to the vet.''
Snyder
rushed Romeo to Stow-Kent Animal Hospital, where he had surgery
under the care of Dr. Dana Jacobson, 26.
Jacobson
took the bones that were left and cut them to the next joint. She
then brought the pads of Romeo's foot forward so he would again
be able to walk on them.
The
surgery took one hour and Jacobson said she was happy with her work.
``The
biggest thing now is him using the leg, because he doesn't have
his normal foot,'' Jacobson said.
After
observing the way the digits were removed, Jacobson said she believes
the attacker used a very sharp object to assault the dog. The cuts
were clean, she said, so the digits were removed in more of a chopping
motion than a slicing one.
Meanwhile,
the attack on Romeo has taken its toll on the family. Snyder is
raising her two grandchildren, Amanda, 18, and Kaitlin, 16.
Snyder
said the incident particularly affected her youngest granddaughter.
``We've
all been upset,'' Snyder said. ``(Kaitlin) wouldn't even go to bed
because she was scared about the dog, so she stayed up all night.''
After
surgery, Romeo came home to his family. Although Snyder said she
is happy about his return, she still wonders who hurt her dog.
She
told Tallmadge police that Romeo did not bark, so he must have known
his attacker. Also, there was no other noise that alerted her of
the backyard attack.
`We're
just going over and over in our minds,'' Snyder said. ``I just really
want to find out who did it.''
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