Victim of brutal B.C. dog attack flown to Edmonton hospital
Multiple operations performed to save man's arms; second victim recovering at her home
A man and a woman from Fort St. John, B.C., arein hospital with serious injuries aftertwo dogs got into theirhome and attacked them and their petsinside on Christmas Day, say RCMP.
Robin Elgie, 66,was airlifted to a hospital in Edmonton, andhis girlfriend, Wendy Lee Baker, 51, was taken to a hospital in Fort St. John. She's now recovering at home.
KimBabcock,Elgie'slongtime employer, said doctors in Edmonton hospital have performed four operations on Elgieto try to save his arms.
"(The dogs)just kept chewing on him, his left arm.There's basically nothing left of it," saidBabcock.
"It looked like achainsawmassacre had happened in that trailer, the blood was thick everywhere."
She said Baker isn't well enough to travel to see her partner. Babcock has started a crowdfunding campaign to help the couple.
Police see smeared blood
RCMP Cpl. Dave Tyreman said a frantic woman called 911 around 8 p.m. last Friday reporting that two dogs had killed her cat and were trying to kill her and her husband.
The call ended suddenly, and when officers arrived at the homethey found blood smeared on the outside of the door.
Inside, the officers found Bakersuffering from dog bites and Elgiesitting unresponsive in a chair, appearing to be in shock, while being attacked by the dogs, Tyreman said.
"So at that time, you know, [the officers]tried everything that they could to distract the dogs, to draw their attention away, but they still kept attacking this man," said Tyreman.
"At that point they felt they had no other alternative but to use lethal force."
He said an officer shot and killed one dog, but the other managed to escape with serious injuries. It was later tracked down and "humanely put down."
Tyreman would not say what breed the animals were.
Police are determining how many shots had been fired inside the home and at the dogs.
"It's almost like something out of a movie where you just don't expect it," he said.
"We believe we know who the owner is, it's just a matter to find out how these dogs got loose and how they got into this residence."
With files from The Canadian Press and Betsy Trumpener