Dog attacked by javelinas near apartment complex

By Jason Barry

Click here for updates on this story

    PHOENIX (KPHO) — Wendy Gay Van Etten pointed to the spot where a pack of javelina attacked her dog Chancee last week. “I thought he was gone,” said Van Etten. “I thought he was gone, and for the first time in my life, I totally felt helpless.”

Van Etten insists they were just out for their early morning walk and did nothing to provoke the wild animals when one of them went after the 12-year old Corgi-Lab mix and bit him. “Was I going to give my dog up to them, or was I going to fight them off?” asked Van Etten. “I tried to do what I could, but I thought for sure they had gotten him. I thought he was going to die.”

Two men passing by heard the dog owner scream and ran over to help. They made noise and threw rocks at the javelinas until they ran off. “They saved my dog Chancee, and they saved me,” said Van Etten. “If they had gotten done with Chancee, two more were coming around, and they were going to get me. I don’t know; they are my heroes.”

Chancee was bleeding pretty badly and was rushed to a nearby animal hospital, Van Etten said. He needed more than 40 stitches and has already undergone two surgeries. The Phoenix dog owner is hopeful her dog will recover. “He’s like my best friend, so if anything were to happen to him, I don’t know what I would do,” said Van Etten. Van Etten wants to remind everyone in Arizona not to feed javelinas or any other wild animals. She said when they know there is a food source, that’s when they keep coming back.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.