SARASOTA, Fla. (WSVN) — A nine-pound Yorkie is on the road to recovery after surviving an alligator attack near Sarasota.
Owner Alice Trowbridge said the attack happened last Tuesday near her home. It appears the Yorkie, named Zoey, left her owner’s sight and went across the backyard to a seawall.
In the seconds after the attack, Trowbridge and her daughter, Laura Dumovich, said they heard Zoey crying but couldn’t locate her.
“We heard Zoey cry, and I turned and looked, and normally she’s like right around here. I didn’t see her, but there’s light from the neighbor’s house that kind of casts, you know, down, and I saw movement down here,” said Dumovich.
Her daughter ran to the seawall and found Zoey badly injured but still breathing.
“I thought I was about to lose my dog, and I was really in a race to save her life,” said Trowbridge.
“The neighbors heard me yelling. They came outside, and by the time they got outside, they saw our taillights pulling down the driveway, like that’s how fast we moved,” said Dumovich.
Surveillance video shows the moment Trowbridge walks out of her home. Minutes later, their truck races out of the driveway and heads to the hospital.
According to Zoey’s family, she had five broken ribs and both of her lungs had collapsed. Doctors had to reconstruct her rib cage.
“So it wasn’t just the collapsed lungs and the broken ribs. There were a lot of holes in her little body,” said Trowbridge.
Thankfully, Zoey was able to fight through surgery and is now at home with her family, but the recovery will take a while.
“They were all blown away about how strong she is and how resilient, because she had a 50/50 chance. We can’t wait. We have lots of barking to do,” said Dumovich.
Zoey’s ribs will take about six to eight weeks to heal, but her family said while she may be small, she has proven she is very mighty.
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