Darwin: beloved dog dies after mauling, community responds

Grieving and traumatised, the Wotton family’s lives have been turned upside down after their beloved family member was brutally attacked just minutes from their home.

Artimus was two years old when he was fatally attacked on the streets of Darwin.

The Wotton family will be grieving this Easter after their beautiful therapy pup was taken from them in a horrific attack.

On Tuesday, Nathan Wotton would take the family’s beloved two year-old Dachshund dog, Artimus, for his afternoon walk.

An Australian Champion Show Dog, Artimus jumped around excitedly when he saw his leash, eager for a walk in the sun.

Minutes later, however, Artimus would be bleeding out and dying in his owner’s arms after he was brutally mauled by a pair of large dogs who targeted the therapy dog.

Artemis was an Australian Champion Show Dog.

Sonya Wotton said her family had been left “traumatised” by the event.

“The dogs tried to grab Artimus and Nathan picked him up but the dogs literally pulled him out of his arms,” she said.

“Artimus started screaming in agony – a lady came and assisted Nathan trying to get the dogs off him.”

When Nathan had finally managed to pull his dog from the vicious attack, Artimus’ condition was severe.

“With every heartbeat, you could literally see all the blood coming out of his body,” Ms Wotton said.

“He was at the vet within 20 minutes of the attack to have surgery.”

Sonya Wotton and her son, Tobias, are struggling to come to terms with the tragedy.

Artimus did not survive his horrendous wounds and died on the surgery table.

“The vets came out and after they had been working on for a bit over an hour and told us he hadn’t made it and that he ‘fought till the very end’”.

Within 24 hours, #justiceforarty was trending online, with dog owners across Darwin left appalled by the shocking attack.

“We’ve lost our lovely family member and an important part of our lives,” Ms Wotton said.

“Artimus was not just a dog – he was fur-baby and he was someone who was by our side all the time and his role was to provide support and comfort.”

Ms Wotton revealed her sons struggled to sleep and her husband was traumatised by the tragedy.

“It’s absolutely traumatic, one minute he’s there, the next he’s gone,” she said.

“And he’s not gone because of something that was naturally occurring, he’s gone because someone couldn’t be bothered to look after their own pet and they’ve destroyed our family.”

Originally published as Darwin: beloved dog dies after mauling, community responds