CHESAPEAKE, Va. — A Chesapeake dog owner says her 3-year-old pitbull was stabbed and left paralyzed after an encounter with two people she had been helping.
Brandi Hoover says her dog Blu was attacked in her Deep Creek neighborhood backyard on October 6 while she was not home. The dog had to receive days of specialized medical care at Virginia Veterinary Centers Emergency & Specialty near Richmond. Blu suffered multiple stab wounds that damaged his spinal cord, leaving his legs paralyzed.
"My dog was in his own backyard, where they were not supposed to be. I wasn't home," Hoover said.
Hoover says she had been allowing a man and woman, who she was acquainted with, temporarily live in her shed until they got back on their feet. She said she asked them to leave and relocate after about one month of staying there, but they returned unannounced while she was not home.
"And (he) grabs another steak knife. The whole blade went in. And he grabbed a pair of dull school scissors, my kids' school scissors, and he got stabbed in the neck twice. And his right stab wound is where he got punctured in his spinal cord, so that's where the paralysis came in," Hoover said.
"I got a call from my neighbor, saying 'Brandi, get home. There's something going on in the backyard. So, when I get home, I see him, in front of the gate, bleeding out," Hoover said.
Chesapeake Neighborhood News Reporter Erin Holly spoke to the couple via video chat on Friday. They asked not to be recorded, but confirmed they stabbed Blu on October 6 in Hoover's backyard. They say they had permission from Hoover to be on her property that day. They said Blu bit and injured them both, and they stabbed him in self-defense. Hoover disagrees with their account.
"He didn't deserve what happened to him. He's only three. And he was just doing what a dog is supposed to do, protecting his homefront," Hoover said.
Neighborhood News Reporter Erin Holly left a message with the Chesapeake Animal Services Unit to get facts about this encounter, but they did not respond to the inquiry.
Hoover says she has spent over $17,000 so far on Blu's medical care after the incident. She says keeping him alive is extremely important to her and her two children.
"Blu saved my life two years ago. It was pertaining to abuse, and he saved my life. And he was just trying to protect his home, and now it's my turn to save his life," Hoover said.
Some of Hoover's friends started a GoFundMe page to collect donations for Blu's medical expenses.
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