BARGERSVILLE, Ind. — A little dog in Bargersville is on the mend after being attacked and bitten by a much larger dog while on a neighborhood walk.
The owner of the dog that was attacked was told not much could be done against the other dog. But 13News has learned that town animal ordinances are in place that may have been violated.
Eleven-pound Georgie barked at the TV camera Friday afternoon, but was not looking for a fight, backing away from the lens. Georgie was not expecting a fight last week either, when his owner, Luke Podolsky, took him out for a walk in their Bargersville neighborhood.
Luke takes Georgie for a walk in their neighborhood every day. They were on a walk June 1 when, all of a sudden, a much larger dog - a dog Luke had never seen before - attacked Georgie.
Luke said the Siberian husky mix latched on to the back of Georgie’s neck. Luke suffered bites and scratches on his hands trying to open the dog's jaw clinched on Georgie.
"It was just fear,” said Luke. “I thought I was just going to lose my best friend. I thought there was nothing I could do. I was like, ‘It's over. What am I going to do?’"
Two neighbors driving by stopped and pulled the dog off Georgie. He needed surgery and stitches to close the wound, with about $600 in vet clinic bills.
The Podolsky family said the Johnson County Animal Control officer put the other dog on quarantine at home for 10 days, but said nothing else could be done.
According to the animal control officer’s report, the other dog is being fostered. The woman caring for the dog said she was trying to walk the dog when it broke away from her grasp.
"As bad as it sounds, we wanted to get the dog put down because we knew it was dangerous,” said Luke. “We didn't want this to happen to a child or another dog. We knew this dog wasn't safe."
13News learned that Bargersville does have animal ordinances that require dogs to be restrained. If the dog is deemed vicious, the fine can be $500 dollars on a first incident, such as attacking a person or another domestic animal.
Bargersville Police were not aware of the attack until contacted by 13News. The director of Johnson County Animal Control was not available for comment until Monday.