# Wok attacked by dog (GRAPHIC PHOTOS)



## CJSTorts (Jul 12, 2011)

I have been debating whether or not to post about this. Almost a month and a half ago Wok (one of my small redfoots) was chewed by a dog. In the past 2.5 years this dog has shown no interest in the torts, though he was never been allowed contact with the torts. He jumped the enclosure walls and took Wok out and we found him chewing on him on the back porch. We now have an electric fence up around the pen and the dogs do not go near it after touching it the first time. 

Wok seems to be doing really well. He never lost his appetite (he actually ate that night) and is eating and drinking everyday. He is in a separate indoor setup on towels for now. His wounds were pretty bad, there was a very small section of lung visible, I didn't even think he was alive when I saw him laying on the porch. The wounds are healing nicely, I set his enclosure outside everyday for a few hours to get some natural sunshine. Wok has always been my most feisty tort and he has been showing that fighting spirit through all this.

I did not take pictures of the initial injuries but here are some of his progress so far (not for the squeamish). I know we are not out of the woods yet, but he has making great progress so far. I know some of you will now consider me a horrible keeper, that is your opinion and you are welcome to have it. However I do everything I can to provide the best life for all my animals, this was a horrible accident on my part, that Wok is now paying for, but the situation has been fix so that it will not happen again.


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## DixieParadise (Jul 12, 2011)

*RE: Wok attacked by dog*

Wow, so sorry to hear that. It looks like he is doing some healing, so hopefully he will continue to fight. I look at those wounds so near his head and legs and wonder just how lucky he was to protect them. It is easy to get mad at the dog, but it is a chance we all take when we put our pets in the same close enviroments.


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## CJSTorts (Jul 12, 2011)

*RE: Wok attacked by dog*

EJ, I wonder every time I look at him how he did not sustain any damage to his leg or head. I was upset at the dog at first, but realize, he is doing what dogs do and it was my responsibility to make sure he could not get to them, not his.


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## mctlong (Jul 12, 2011)

*RE: Wok attacked by dog*

Aww, poor little guy. Thats awful. Its fortunate that you caught him before the dog finished him off. 

Thank you for posting. Its important to inform newbies and remind experts how much damage man's best friend can inflict on torts.


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## Kristina (Jul 12, 2011)

*RE: Wok attacked by dog*

I am very sorry to hear this - but THANK YOU!!! for being brave enough to post! It is sometimes hard to convince people that dogs and tortoises DO NOT MIX. Even after years, a dog can suddenly decide that it wants a chew toy. You being brave enough to share your tragic story just might save the life of another tortoise.

I really hope that Wok heals up quickly.


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## CJSTorts (Jul 12, 2011)

*RE: Wok attacked by dog*

Shelly thank you, it was hard to post this but felt that I should.

Thank you Kristina, he seems to be healing well and I just pray he will continue to do so.


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## ascott (Jul 12, 2011)

Horrible keeper? No, did not even think that ..... 

I have two dogs on our property and am always on alert when my dogs go out --I have one that I suspect may/likely would harm any of the torts/or small creature if she could....but she is a fence jumper so when she is out she has to be attached to a 75 foot steel cable, as she use to be found in the neighbors yard (and that was the last straw so to speak for me, how rude of her ) she loves being inside anyways so when she goes out to do her "big girl business" it is when the guys are in their burrows and in the evening/nighttime she goes out to get her exercise when it is cooler, so all works out. But I would never trust her....the boy dog we have is so much more laid back, but he is only allowed a common fence line of which he could care less and he is not a jumper/digger, thankfully 

I don't even think that this is a "lesson" about dogs, I believe it was a horrible thing that happened..in life, horrible things happen and I hope your little buddy comes out of the injuries in a healthy speedy way


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## CJSTorts (Jul 12, 2011)

Thank you for your very kind words ascott.


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## Fernando (Jul 12, 2011)

Hope Wok heals quickly!


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## dmmj (Jul 12, 2011)

I think it is good to post things like this so people can see that dogs an torts don't mix, it looks bad but not life threatening he should heal just fine, I don't think anyone here blames you or the dog, it was an accident nothing more. Just be grateful that neither the tort nor dog came to any serious harm, and hopefully your story will convince someone else down the road to not mix torts and dogs, thanks for sharing.


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## DocNezzy (Jul 12, 2011)

Sorry to hear your horror story with dogs and torts. Has anyone ever seen torts with a great pyrenees though? A man I know has 6 large sulcatas that have lived with his great pyrenees for years and that things protects them from coyotes and other animals. Just wondering. Didn't mean to hijack thread!


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## Baoh (Jul 12, 2011)

DocNezzy said:


> Sorry to hear your horror story with dogs and torts. Has anyone ever seen torts with a great pyrenees though? A man I know has 6 large sulcatas that have lived with his great pyrenees for years and that things protects them from coyotes and other animals. Just wondering. Didn't mean to hijack thread!



Not specifically. Depends on the dog, anyway.

I have a Corgi that either herds or ignores all things except for those she has been taught to eat. Has corralled my lizards during early escapes when I wasn't home and my gf left a bin open. Lets the lovebirds ride on her back. I don't let her be alone with smaller tortoises, though, just in case any herding behavior could be so rough as to be injurious to a delicately-sized animal, although she has always been gentle with geckos which are far more fragile-skinned than tortoises. She has thrown her toy at my adult ivory, but when she realized he wouldn't play in kind, she stopped doing that. I wish I had captured that on video. She will run after a squirrel or rabbit, but seemingly to inspect. She'll stop chasing mid-stride if I say her name.

My English Bull Terrier used to be ultra-violent with smaller animals (and is still aggressive/violent against mammals of any kind). However, one of my Giant RAPTORs (leopard gecko morph) once bit her on the nose and left a tiny slice at the time. This freaked her out and threw her into a sneezing fit and she has been very cautious around both lizards and chelonians since. I cannot trust her around the birds, though. 

On the flip side, my parents' JRTs once flipped and killed a large Gopher Tortoise that wandered into their yard. Sadly, my mother was unable to make it to the tortoise in time to stop them. A shameful loss.

Some folks think their dogs would never do anything in the same way some parents think their kids are little angels who would never do [insert poor behavior here]. Just as some parents are correct and some are incorrect, so it is also with dog owners. There's what one knows and what one thinks one knows. The former is often exceeded by the latter.


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## CJSTorts (Jul 12, 2011)

Fernando said:


> Hope Wok heals quickly!



Thank you!



dmmj said:


> I think it is good to post things like this so people can see that dogs an torts don't mix, it looks bad but not life threatening he should heal just fine, I don't think anyone here blames you or the dog, it was an accident nothing more. Just be grateful that neither the tort nor dog came to any serious harm, and hopefully your story will convince someone else down the road to not mix torts and dogs, thanks for sharing.



He looks much better than he did. When it first happened, every time he took a breath a small part of his lung would protrude from the shell.



DocNezzy said:


> Sorry to hear your horror story with dogs and torts. Has anyone ever seen torts with a great pyrenees though? A man I know has 6 large sulcatas that have lived with his great pyrenees for years and that things protects them from coyotes and other animals. Just wondering. Didn't mean to hijack thread!





Baoh said:


> DocNezzy said:
> 
> 
> > Sorry to hear your horror story with dogs and torts. Has anyone ever seen torts with a great pyrenees though? A man I know has 6 large sulcatas that have lived with his great pyrenees for years and that things protects them from coyotes and other animals. Just wondering. Didn't mean to hijack thread!
> ...



I knew a guy who trained his dogs to help him locate his torts and their nest. He had very large pens and the dogs would locate the tort or nest and just sit by it till he came over. Though he never let the dogs in the pens unsupervised.


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## Jacqui (Jul 12, 2011)

Charlotte, I am sorry you ever had fears of us calling you a horrible tortoise keeper. It was an accident. Something unforeseen by you happened and you fixed the problem so it would not happen again that makes you a good keeper.


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## CJSTorts (Jul 12, 2011)

Jacqui said:


> Charlotte, I am sorry you ever had fears of us calling you a horrible tortoise keeper. It was an accident. Something unforeseen by you happened and you fixed the problem so it would not happen again that makes you a good keeper.



Thanks Jacqui! As soon as we had Wok taken care of we ran to the hardware store and got everything for the new fencing, the dogs were not allowed out until it was up.


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## dmarcus (Jul 12, 2011)

Poor little guy, I am happy that he is doing good. I agree it was an accident and things happen when we least expect it to. Thank you for sharing because this is a reminder that we can't get relaxed on the safety of our tortoises...


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## ALDABRAMAN (Jul 12, 2011)

Best!


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## CJSTorts (Jul 12, 2011)

dalano73 said:


> Poor little guy, I am happy that he is doing good. I agree it was an accident and things happen when we least expect it to. Thank you for sharing because this is a reminder that we can't get relaxed on the safety of our tortoises...



Thank you.


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## froghaven5 (Jul 12, 2011)

Sure hope Wok makes a speedy recovery. Sounds like he is a special tort.


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## RV's mom (Jul 12, 2011)

wow. poor wok! horror story indeed. Glad to know your problem is resolved with the electric fence, and that wok had a fighting spirit. All indeed good news. 

prayers and meditations your way...


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## Yvonne G (Jul 12, 2011)

*RE: Wok attacked by dog*



mctlong said:


> Thank you for posting. Its important to inform newbies and remind experts how much damage man's best friend can inflict on torts.



And the MOST important part of the original post was...

"In the past 2.5 years this dog has shown no interest in the torts,..."

This lulls you into a false sense of security.

Never...NEVER relax your watchfulness with dogs and tortoises.

Its really amazing what kind of injuries these guys can withstand. Do you have him on antibiotics?


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## My Torts (Jul 12, 2011)

I wouldn't think you were a horrible keeper ... it was an accident and looks like you are doing your absolute best to care for him now. Best of luck with helping him heal!


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## Angi (Jul 12, 2011)

I am so sorry for you and your little tort. Did you take it to a vet? What did the vet say?


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## CJSTorts (Jul 15, 2011)

Wok seems to be going strong still, yesterday I cut some grass from his outdoor enclosure to give him and he dug right in. I also picked up some red tortoise sticks from John (Coastal) and he seems to enjoy those as well. 

Thank you everyone for your well wishes, I will update as he progresses.


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