VANCOUVER 鈥� Yuri was an assistance dog who helped a woman with autism navigate her daily life, a therapy animal who comforted palliative care patients and an integral part of his 91原创 family.
That all ended Saturday afternoon when the miniature pinscher was eviscerated by a pit bull in what Yuri鈥檚 owner describes as an unprovoked attack.
Mia Johnson and her daughter were walking Yuri and a second dog on-leash when they encountered another dog owner at 10th Avenue and Dunbar Street. The other woman was walking a Staffordshire bull terrier, one of the breeds commonly referred to as pit bulls.
鈥淭he dog was straining on its leash and it went right for our dog,鈥� Johnson said.
鈥淚 saw it had a muzzle on but everything happened so fast. The muzzle came off and it went after one of our dogs.鈥�
The bigger dog鈥檚 jaws locked onto Yuri. People nearby who witnessed the sudden attack ran over and began hitting the pit bull, poking its eyes and pulling on its ears, but it wouldn鈥檛 let go.
By the time it finally loosened its grip, Yuri was barely alive.
鈥淢y dog was disembowelled. I picked him up and everything inside him was just in my hands,鈥� Johnson said.
鈥�(My daughter) was screaming. She was trying to go after the lady and calling her a murderer. Everything was just out of control.鈥�
One of the witnesses drove Johnson and Yuri to a nearby vet clinic, where she had no choice but to have him put down.
鈥淭here was nothing you could do. There was more of him outside his body than there was in. He鈥檚 so small,鈥� Johnson said of the five-pound animal.
Johnson was also bitten on the hand during the attack, and had to be taken to the hospital for a tetanus shot. The other dog鈥檚 owner was bitten on the hand and face.
Yuri had just turned eight years old the day before the attack and was a timid, well-behaved animal, according to Johnson. He regularly interacted with other dogs and didn鈥檛 need a leash, though Johnson said she always used one.
鈥淗e wasn鈥檛 the kind of dog that would have tried to make a dog attack him. He doesn鈥檛 growl. He鈥檚 just tiny,鈥� she said.
Yuri and the family鈥檚 second miniature pinscher, Mary, acted as service dogs for Johnson鈥檚 27-year-old daughter Laurel Owen, who has autism and suffers from anxiety.
Having the dogs with her gave Owen the confidence she needed to learn to use the bus and begin work at a volunteer job.
鈥淭his is a terrible loss. It鈥檚 like losing a family member, because they do so much for her. I feel more secure about her because I know they鈥檙e helping her,鈥� Johnson said.
Yuri was also certified as a therapy dog with St. John Ambulance and spent two years visiting patients in palliative care at Blenheim Lodge, a 91原创 care home.
Johnson is still in shock after the attack. She鈥檚 also living with a brain tumour, and said the dogs have helped her feel she can manage life as a single parent to an adult with autism.
鈥淢y daughter and two dogs, they鈥檙e like everything to me,鈥� she said.
Before the attack, she scoffed at the owners of small dogs who were constantly scooping up their animals into their arms, seemingly afraid of the smallest dangers.
Now, things are different.
鈥淚 just want to tell people that if you鈥檙e walking a little dog and you see an aggressive one coming toward you, just pick it up. Don鈥檛 even take a chance,鈥� Johnson said.
The pit bull has been seized and the attack is now under investigation, according to John Gray, assistant manager of animal control for the City of 91原创. A report has also been made with police.
鈥淒epending on the outcome of the investigation, there could possibly be charges that鈥檒l be pending,鈥� Gray said, adding that it鈥檚 too early to say if the animal will be euthanized.
The city has the right to hold the dog for 21 days to collect evidence.
