A woman says she will never foster another rescue animal after being attacked by the dog she was taking in.
The 60 something year-old woman who wishes to remain anonymous was set to foster a St. Bernard from Rescue NL after seeing on their Facebook page that the first foster family hadn’t worked out.
The dog was quickly dropped off after her message inquiring about the dog, without a house visit to see if she would be a fit.
The woman was made aware of some issues regarding the dog, but when the dog arrived she realized quickly that the dog wasn’t a fit.
She was told the dog was okay with cats but it was clear the dog was not. She tried to take the dog for a walk to calm him when things went awry.
She says within a moment the dog leaped out of the vehicle and right onto her arm. He grabbed a second time which knocked her down.
She has 4 puncture wounds and abrasions from trying to defend herself. It also appears the dog has had a previous incident on a beach in Corner Brook and was scheduled to be euthanized.
Warning Signs From the Start of Foster Process
The woman says there were a lot of red flags about the whole experience. What concerns her was the fact that Rescue NL dropped the dog off very quickly without vetting her, didn’t come to her house or check to see if the animal was a good fit.
Further to that, the dog had a different name than posted online, and she was told it was to not let the original owners know they were in possession of the dog.
The woman does not want to discourage anyone from taking in a rescue animal. She has some advice for anyone considering bringing an unknown animal into their home.
She says you must see the animal face to face before it comes to your home. Ask questions like why is it being moved, why was it given up and what’s the history of the animal. There should be paperwork, you should be able to see someone face to face from the agency you are working with.
Police say no charges will be laid as no one is in ownership of the dog and that the attack was circumstance.
VOCM News reached out to Rescue NL for comment before the story was to be posted; they did not respond and as of Friday their Facebook page no longer exists.
