After being bitten in the face by a bobcat in her own backyard, Irie, an 8-year-old Chihuahua/Jack Russell terrier mix walked away with 12 stitches.
On Jan. 8, Irie went outside around 7:30 p.m. at the Lower Red Rock Loop home, which is bordered by forest land, Josh Herbert said.
When Herbert’s dad heard a commotion, he ran up the hill in the dark and saw a bobcat run away and Irie scamper home.
By Alison Ecklund
After being bitten in the face by a bobcat in her own backyard, Irie, an 8-year-old Chihuahua/Jack Russell terrier mix walked away with 12 stitches.
On Jan. 8, Irie went outside around 7:30 p.m. at the Lower Red Rock Loop home, which is bordered by forest land, Josh Herbert said.
When Herbert’s dad heard a commotion, he ran up the hill in the dark and saw a bobcat run away and Irie scamper home.
Herbert was already on his way home when he got his dad’s call. He immediately called the Oak Creek Small Animal Clinic and had Irie there within 45 minutes of the attack.
Irie suffered cuts near both eyes, another by an artery and one so deep it almost punctured her ear canal.
Irie’s veterinarian Jeannine Kinney checked to make sure none of the wounds were life threatening, then gave her a sedative and an antibiotic for the night. The clinic opened early the next morning for surgery, and staff irrigated the dog’s wounds and stitched up the muscle tissue in her jaw.
Almost a week later, Irie was returned to the vet to drain her wounds, but seemed to be in good spirits as she sunned herself on a concrete picnic table.
“Irie” is Jamaican for “happy,” Herbert said, a name that fits his
17-pound dog perfectly.
“Everyone loves her. She’s a celebrity in this town,” he said. “I’ve had more of my buddies call in the past four days than I have since high school.”
This isn’t Herbert’s first experience with wild animals attacking his pets.
Last May a mountain lion nabbed his 1-year-old Jack Russell terrier/Chihuahua mix in the same backyard and disappeared with him.
Herbert blames his luck on the dry wash running behind his house that seems to attract deer, bobcats and mountain lion, he said.
“I think it’s a natural path,” he said, which many animals cross.
The Oak Creek Small Animal Clinic sees pets attacked by wild animals regularly, Kinney said, mostly by coyotes, javelinas and bobcats, and advises pet owners to supervise their pets or keep them on a leash.
Even a fence might not protect pets from coyotes, she said.
Her No. 1 tip is always make sure dogs and cats are updated on rabies vaccine.
According to Sedona Police Department’s Animal Control Officer Kris Billington, if a pet doesn’t have its rabies shots and is bitten by a wild animal that cannot be tested for rabies, the pet must be quarantined for 180 days at the owner’s expense.
If a pet is up to date on its rabies vaccine, the quarantine is for 45 days and the animal control officer may determine the quarantine be at home.
Quarantine fees start at $12 a day and the price is based
on the size of the animal, Billington said.
He has seen pet owners pay up to $4,000 for vet bills and quarantine, he said, a large fee that can be avoided with a $10 rabies vaccine.
If you don’t know what attacked your pet, Billington said, you have to assume the animal had rabies.
Alison Ecklund can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 125, or e-mail
aecklund@larsonnewspapers.com
