FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A Shih Tzu named Monroe was being walked around 1 a.m. in a Fort Lauderdale neighborhood Sunday when a neighboring dog attacked without warning.
“The dog got out and he ran out of the yard and he attacked my dog,” Keturah Hail, Monroe’s owner, said.
Hail’s 16-year-old son was walking Monroe, along with the other family dog named Lucky. Hail’s son was also bitten in the melee.
The family rushed Monroe to an emergency vet, but the nine-year-old dog did not survive the attack.
“I tried to get her to the vet, tried to save her because I didn’t want to lose her,” Hail said.
Daniel Holmes, the owner of the alleged attacking dog, said that Hail’s son walking Monroe without a leash in the early hours when his dog got loose.
The cause of the attack is now under investigation with the Broward County Animal Care and Adoption Division.
“Because we have a person that was bitten we need to make sure that the animal was involved has the current rabies vaccination,” Animal Care and Adoption investigator Philip Goen said.
While the case is under investigation, Holmes’ dogs could be placed in quarantine for up to 10 days.
“I’m very concerned, these dogs are my children,” Monroe said.
Hail’s son is being vaccinated against rabies as a precaution.