Owner: Beloved rescue dog loses eye in ‘vicious’ bite-and-run attack

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A Meridian-Kessler resident’s beloved pet was attacked Monday night by another dog that fled the scene with its owner, witnesses said.

Zelda, a Brussels Griffon mix, lost her right eye and a large amount of blood in the “vicious” attack near the corner of Central Avenue and 47th Street, according to owner Catherine Hayes.

“I almost thought I was going to faint,” Hayes told News 8. “My T-shirt was covered in blood [and] my tennis shoes [as well]. There was so much blood.”

She and her husband had been playing with their 5-year-old rescue dog in a neighbor’s fenced yard when a couple they didn’t recognize walked by, she said.

The man and woman appeared to be “maybe in their late 50s, early 60s” and had two leashed dogs with them, according to Hayes; a tan or brown boxer mix weighing approximately 70 pounds and a black-and-white terrier mix weighing approximately 30 pounds.

The terrier mix spotted Zelda and led the woman toward the fenced yard, Hayes said.

“She allowed the dog to approach the fence,” she recalled. “As the dog approached the fence, it lunged through the slats here [in the fence], bit my dog right in the face and punctured her eye.”

Hayes and her husband rushed Zelda to a Fishers animal hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery. Veterinarians removed her tear ducts and the globe of her eye, and sutured her eyelids shut. Zelda is expected to recover, albeit with one eye.

After ensuring the dog had been stabilized, Hayes turned her attention to tracking down her attacker — and the other dog’s owner.

“I just really wish the woman would have stopped,” she said. “She turned and ran with her dog. I just want some accountability.”

Multiple witnesses reported seeing the couple with two dogs fleeing the scene Monday around 7:30 p.m. without rendering aid or sharing contact information.

The incident had not yet been reported to authorities Friday night, according to a spokesperson for Indianapolis police.

Animal Control officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.