DORAL, FLA. (WSVN) - A pet owner is speaking out after a trip to vaccinate her dog ended in a pet tragedy.
Speaking with 7News on Wednesday, Emily Mirabal said she took her dog to Miami-Dade Animal Services when a pit bull got loose and went on the attack, resulting in the death of her little Dachshund, Toby.
“It was very devastating,” she said. “I’m furious with Miami-Dade Animal Services.”
In the days since the tragic incident, Mirabal said she’s mortified, heartbroken, and sick over the death of Toby.
“I’ve lost three nights of sleep, four, I can’t keep counting to be honest,” she said. “All I keep doing is keep reliving that moment, turning around and seeing my little dog inside that pit bull’s mouth.”
The incident occurred on Saturday, when Mirabal took Toby and her other dog, Gator, to get vaccinated.
“I saw on these papers that show that you have to get these tags and vaccines for your dog every three years or annually,” she explained.
While waiting to have her number called for her animals to get their shots, she walked her dogs to her car when she saw the pit bull.
“A pit bull runs out of their play area where the people take them to play with, runs out and he’s running really fast at me and I didn’t even know if it was coming toward me. My first reaction was to reach down and grab Gator,” said Mirabal.
She says the out-of-control dog ran from the Doral facility and charged 6-year-old Toby.
“He mauled my little dog, right in front of me,” she said. “There was blood coming out. It was very horrific for me. I was shaken to the core, I didn’t know what to do.”
The sudden escalation of events left those around shocked and unable to respond.
“No one was there around me, nobody knew what to do,” said Mirabal.
She said a volunteer was in charge of the pit weighing over 70 pounds.
As her dog lay on the floor, she pleaded with employees to save her wounded Toby.
“I said, ‘I want you to try to save him.’ They told me, ‘We don’t do that here. We can send you somewhere,'” said Mirabal.
Filled with emotion, the pet owner rushed her dog to the nearest veterinarian for a checkup, but it was too late.
“He was dead, pronounced dead by the time he got there,” said Mirabal. “Honestly, he was mauled so bad that I really knew that the amount of time that had gone by, he had no chance.”
The entire time she says she was worried the pit bull could target a nearby child or someone else.
“I feel that at some point I have to put in my mind that maybe it was my dog that probably saved that child’s life,” she said.
Now, she’s pointing the finger at the Miami-Dade Animal Services and urging them to make some changes.
“They need to have better protocol with emergency situations,” she said.
7News spoke with a member of Miami-Dade Animal Services, who shared heartfelt condolences with Mirabal and Toby.
“We’re very, very sorry for her and the loss of her pet,” said Miami-Dade Animal Services’ Gabby Dominguez.
“A lot of people are gonna watch this and hear you and say, ‘Sorry just doesn’t cut it,'” said 7News reporter Sheldon Fox.
When asked how something like this happens, Dominguez said, “It was an unfortunate incident where a volunteer happened to just lose control of the dog. That animal has been euthanized.”
She also laid out new ways the center is working to prevent something like this from happening again.
“We definitely have volunteers that walk our pets on site, they continuously go through training to better their animal handling,” said Dominguez.
But Mirabal says those comments bring her little comfort.
“That helps me with nothing. That’s not my purpose with this. There needs to be change,” she said.
She has filed a police report and says she’s considering taking legal action against Miami-Dade Animal Services.
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