'It's really a miracle': Boo the shih tzu back at home in Dartmouth after stabbing
Suspect charged with break and enter, causing animal suffering after 4-year-old dog attacked last month
A four-year-old shih tzu-terrier mix named Boo is back home in Dartmouth, N.S. — still running to the door to greet visitors with a wagging tail — after being stabbed multiple times in his chest and abdomen three weeks ago.
Mariah Godin, Boo's owner, arrived home on Sept. 29 to discover a backpack full of beer left by a stranger, blood on the floor and Boo hiding in the bedroom closet of her home in the 100 block of Windmill Road.
"It's really a miracle. He's such a little guy to have been attacked like that," she said.
Godin called 911 and Halifax Regional Police arrived quickly because a man out on a day pass from the East Coast Forensic Hospital had already called to turn himself in for the attack.
CBC is not naming the man who was arrested nearby. He's been charged with break and enter, possession of a weapon dangerous to public peace, causing an animal unnecessary suffering. He is scheduled to be back in court next week.
Godin then wrapped Boo like a baby in a blanket and police rushed them to an emergency veterinarian clinic.
She describes the next hours as torture as vets worked to save Boo's life. She says they pulled out all the stops as she approved any treatment that might help, even though there was with no guarantee.
"I can't lose him like that, so I have to try everything," she said about those moments.
Among Boo's injuries were a collapsed lung, a hole in his chest and a wound in his abdomen, but his heart and intestines were unharmed. Godin says she doesn't know how many times he was stabbed.
After a stressful night of blood transfusions and tubes inserted into his lungs and abdomen, Godin says she got a call saying Boo was stable, but would need to go to the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown for more treatment.
There he had several surgeries, including the removal of his spleen.
People love him as much as I do
A friend of Godin's started a GoFundMe campaign to help with the vet bills. Donors have already contributed $20,000, enough to reach its fundraising goal.
"It genuinely, especially in the first week, was how I coped with it, and how I was able to not just think about how awful it was. People who hadn't even met him loved him as much as I do," said Godin.
She says Boo helped her through COVID lockdowns and she can't imagine living at her house without him.
Boo has been out of hospital for a week and back at home for two days. He is still happy to see people, says Godin, but he starts shaking if she leaves him alone. She hopes to work with a dog trainer to help Boo recover from the trauma.
For now, Boo's supposed to take it easy — no stairs, no jumping — which Godin says is harder to manage as his health improves. He's allowed to eat anything and everything, on doctor's orders, which means he also gets one of his favourites, cheese.
Godin says Boo has to go back to the AVC hospital in a couple of weeks to have his staples removed and to have a check up. He's expected to fully recover except for a possible limp.
As for Godin, she is trying to build a new routine and start taking care of herself.
"I feel like I tied so much of it to, like, as long as he's OK, I'll be OK," said Godin.
"He's very tough for such a special princess."
