A routine bathroom break turned into a frightening ordeal for a Coquitlam dog and her owner early Friday morning.
Tammy McBride said her 10-lbs. maltipoo, Vegas, was only a few feet from the door of their townhouse in the Mariner Way and Dewdney Trunk Road area when the pooch was snatched up in the mouth of a coyote.
McBride said she started screaming so loud that she likely woke up everyone in the area. She also started throwing rocks at the coyote until it eventually dropped her pet and took off with another coyote.
"You aren't even thinking," she said. "They just grabbed her and they were gone."
Vegas survived the incident, but had two punctured lungs and received 45 stitches around her belly as a result of the attack. An emergency surgery Friday morning cost McBride $1,800 and she will likely have more bills as her pet recovers.
However, by Monday Vegas was still a bit more docile than usual but starting to show signs that she was recovering.
"She is a bit more mobile today," McBride said of the dog. "She basically looks like she has been cut in half."
Now, McBride is warning other pet owners to be vigilant when they let their animals outdoors, especially at night.
She also said that having a 24-hour veterinary clinic's phone number handy can save people precious time during an emergency.
gmckenna@tricitynews.com
