‘She is my daughter’s lifeline’: Child’s therapy dog brutally attacked
After Queensland teenager’s therapy dog was brutally bashed with such brute force that her bones were shattered and her brain bruised during a home invasion, the girl’s mother has spoken out about the “hideously cruel” crime. WARNING: Distressing.
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A TEENAGER’S therapy support dog was viciously attacked on the Gold Coast during a terrifying and bizarre home invasion on Friday night.
Thirteen-year-old Celeste, who has ASD, and her family were asleep in their Elanora home when the intruder attacked her greyhound Minnie, leaving her bloodied and clinging to life on her dog bed.
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Minnie was bashed with such brute force that her sinus bones were shattered and her brain bruised.
Celeste’s mother Jennifer Althaus said the family found her laying in her own blood the following morning.
The ordeal has been described as “hideously cruel”, with more than $2000 in emergency surgery required to save Minnie.
Ms Althaus said Minnie had a hole between her eyes, which she thought was from a bullet wound.
“She is not a pet as such, she is my daughter’s lifeline,” Ms Althaus told The Courier-Mail.
“She is my daughter’s assistance dog that goes everywhere my daughter goes and keeps her calm and helps her understand the world.
“There are some evil, evil monsters out there … I can’t even comprehend how anyone could do this.”
A Go Fund Me page has been created to help the family cover what will be months of ongoing vet bills to support Minnie.
The fundraiser has been online for only one day and has already raised nearly $3,000.
“All I can focus on is not only has this evil person done this to my dog, but they’ve done it to my family,” Ms Althaus said.
“You think your dog is safe in it’s own back yard, be vigilant because you never know what some evil monster will do.
“We are dealing with it everyday because some evil monster thought it would be fun or something.
“I’ve had flowers being sent, emails of people wanting to make care packages for Minnie and I feel like evil people are not going to win, this evil person is not going to beat us.”
The family hope Minnie will be able to recover to continue to help Celeste, as she has been her vital support and family member for six years.
Police said they had received a complaint of animal cruelty stemming from the incident and are investigating.
Ms Althaus is urging members of the community to contact Police or RSPCA if they have know information.
