The owners of a beloved Jack Russell who died after a German shepherd launched a horrific attack on him are going to court to try to reclaim the £8,000 bill they have been hit with.
Sparky died shortly after being rushed to the vet from cardiac arrest. Mirror Reports.
Rachael Clark was eight months pregnant when the attack on her rescue dog took place. John, her husband, has now taken legal action against the Alsatian owner to recover the eye-watering vet costs.
(Image by Rachael Clark
Sparky, six years old, was out with his dog-walker, in east Hampshire, when the incident occurred.
According to the dog-walker’s report, the attack started because the German shepherd had strayed off his lead and was not in sight of its owner.
“She walked [Sparky] down a path and as soon as they saw this dog she turned away, as she always did, so our dog wasn’t so reactive,” Rachael told the Mirror.
(Image by Rachael Clark
“Sparky didn’t even see the dog but within a hundred seconds it had run up and focused on him and went for him. It was really brutal.”
The dog-walker took him to the nearest vets and called Rachael and John at work to tell them what had happened. She said the other owner had agreed to meet her at the vets, but didn’t show up.
When Rachael and John arrived, they were told Sparky “was on death’s door and it’s critical”, and were advised he needed to be treated at a specialist.
(Image by Rachael Clark
They followed that advice, and following CT scans and further testing they were told he’d been stabilised.
“When they gave us the quote for all the procedures and treatments it was still critical at that point but stable and it sounded like he had a chance,” said Rachael, who works as an admin assistant for a charity.
“We thought he was going to come home, we thought he was going to pull through, but sadly that didn’t happen.”
Sparky died less than 48 hours later.
The owner of the German shepherd cross was registered at the same vets, and Rachael tried to make contact with her.
(Image by Rachael Clark
She stated: “I tried to call her to give her an update but she was shifting the blame, no remorse or anything like that. I mentioned about payments and stuff and insurance but she was really not very forthcoming.”
John and Rachael spoke with the police. However, no law was broken as dog-on-dog attacks do not constitute criminal offenses. The couple has started the small claims court process.
They are advised to claim both for their vet bills and the cost of a brand new dog.