A dog attack in Burnaby has sent a New West man's four-legged family member into critical condition and himself to the hospital for IV therapy.
On April 22, Darren Pilling and his three-year-old sheltie dog, Finley, were enjoying a walk in Burnaby's Fraser Foreshore Park when the attack occurred.
Pilling owns a manufacturing truck parts business, but he's often in Burnaby three to four times a week on business.
"(Finley) can play with the ducks, gets another walk in during the day," he told the Burnaby NOW. "We were doing that a few days a week for a long time, it's normal practice."
But nothing was normal about this trip. Pilling saw a large dog that may have been a pit-bull mix, unleashed and barreling towards Finley.
"My buddy has a pit bull, two of them, and one he can let run free - it's as friendly as Finley," Pilling explained. "I figured, OK, this guy has a (dog) off leash so it's got to be one of the good pit bulls."
Then Pilling said he noticed the dog wasn't slowing down and before he knew it, the big dog had flipped Finley over and was trying to eat her.
"I started to boot the (other) dog in the head to try to get it to let go of Finley," he said. "The owner started yelling at me for booting his dog in the head."
Finally, the dog did stop from tearing open Finley's underbelly and took off. Finley also took off in another direction.
"I followed the owner, I was kind of in shock and panic," he said. "I was angry, but not in full-rage mode. I was pissed off. Somebody just attacked one of my family members."
Pilling said he got into a verbal argument with the other owner and asked for his info, which the owner refused to give.
"Then I started to get pissed off and angry, and he did the old chest bump to me and told me, 'You don't know who I am,'" Pilling said.
Then a nearby witness called Pilling and told him his dog was bleeding.
"There was a pool of blood underneath her," he said. "I scooped (Finley) up and ran back to the truck."
Pilling said it was a stressful drive searching for a nearby veterinarian clinic.
After heading east back to New West, Pilling once again saw the same owner of the big dog who attacked Finley walking with his dog now leashed.
"I stop, pull the truck up and pull out and said, 'you have to give me your info," Pilling said. "We ended up in a scuffle in the middle of the street."
That's when the big dog, who attacked Finley, bit into Pilling's leg.
"I turned around and punched the dog in the nose and he let go," Pilling said. "I turned back to the guy and he has a knife in his hand and he said something like, 'Get out of here.'"
The same witness who was on the trail also chanced upon Pilling and the other dog owner again, and called Pilling to pay attention to Finley.
"The lady followed the guy from the trail," he said. "She was there, yelling, 'Your dog, your dog.'"
That's when Pilling ran back to his truck and drove "like a crazy man" to try and find a vet while Finley was bleeding out in the backseat.
"I've been hurt and lost blood, but to see how much blood she was losing," Pilling said, "and I'm on the phone . and I'm half crazy trying to find a vet."
When Finley finally received care she received stitches to her stomach and was stable, but a day or two later her health took a turn for the worst, according to Pilling.
"We brought her back home again, and she wasn't right at all," Pilling said.
The vet had to cut her open again and Finley's stomach became bloated to the point where she looked pregnant, Pilling said.
After Global TV's segment on Pilling's story earlier this week, his family was able to bring Finley to a vet hospital in Vancouver.
"She's in there now, and she had surgery last night (April 30) and there's a hole in her stomach," Pilling said.
Finley is in critical condition, taking it hour by hour. "She has to make it through the next four days to get stable," Pilling said on May 1.
Pilling said he's past anger and is concerned for his dog.
Meanwhile, he has had to get IV therapy every day at Royal Columbian Hospital to fight an infection from the bite in his leg.
"Forget about the money," he said about the bills that are reaching the $5,000 mark. "This guy has put my dog through hell and the rest of it so he can think he's the cool guy with the pit bull off his leash."
Although Pilling said he's not sure what kind of dog attacked Finley, he said it was big and looked like some kind of pit bull mix.
There is a Craigslist posting asking for witnesses with photos of the man taken by the witness that day, at Vancouver. en.craigslist.ca/bnc/pet3760074310.html.
Burnaby RCMP confirmed it is investigating Finley's attack.
"It doesn't make sense," Pilling added. "But most traumatic things don't."
