A vicious attack in a Griffith backyard has resulted in the death of a blind dog known for her sweet nature.
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Bella, a Jack Russell cross, had lost both of her eyes some time ago, but that didn’t stop her from greeting Suzanne Harris at the door.
Suzanne described the attack as a terrible tragedy and wanted people to be aware of the incident so they could protect their own animals.
“I don’t want anyone else to have to go through what we’ve been through,” Suzanne said.
“She was an amazing little thing, what she’d gone through, and for this to happen it’s gut wrenching.”
According to Suzanne’s mother Nola, someone came into the Ledgerwood Street backyard and kicked the dog repeatedly while everyone was at work.
“They basically kicked her to death,” Nola said.
When Suzanne and her daughter Amber came home from work Bella would usually greet them and beg to be picked up. On that day she lay still under the table. Suzanne picked her up and Bella whimpered in her arms.
“They raced up to the vet and the vet said she had been brutally kicked,” Nola said.
“She’d been laying there all day, the vet did a scan and her stomach was full of blood. They had to put her down.”
Bella was not a vicious dog, according to Suzanne.
“She’s never bitten anyone in her life. She was a licker.
“She sounded like a big dog when she barked, but she was so small. Her nickname was ‘big girl’ because she thought she was a big dog.”
The loss of Bella was felt by Suzanne’s 19-year-old cat as well who had recently gone blind.
“She was relying on Bella a bit, blind leading the blind literally in our house,” Suzanne said.
“When she was getting a bit lost Bella would go and lead her. The blind dog would lead the blind cat around.”
They also have a five-year-old dog who now spends the day looking for Bella and staring at her empty spot.
“She’s quite sad, you can see it by looking at her,” Suzanne said.
“She looks over at the other pillow on the couch because they’d sit up there together.”
Inspector Kim Traynor from Griffith Local Area Command said animal abuse was a criminal offence and encouraged people to report these types of incidents.
Abuse and neglect can be reported to your local police station or the RSPCA.
