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Wheeling Dog on The Mend After Attack

Photo by Joselyn King Max the shih tzu is recovering at his home on Maple Avenue in Woodsdale following an attack by two rottweilers last week.

WHEELING — Max the shih tzu is still really scared, and he hasn’t eaten for nearly six days. An IV in his left front paw is providing him needed nutrition.

The 20-pound canine lies quietly on his porch along Maple Avenue in Woodsdale, but he is recovering well after being attacked by two 120-pound rottweilers last week while being walked near his home.

Max perhaps owes his survival to his owner, Becky Marshall — a resident of Maple Avenue for 37 years. She threw herself on the ground to cover her dog, and she said she punched one of the rottweilers in the face three times as she lay there.

The incident happened just before 8 a.m. Friday near the intersection of Maple Avenue and Echo Lane.

“My little dog was being thrashed back and forth like a piece of paper,” Marshall said. “It was terrifying. I walk him every day and he is always on a leash. He is never far from my foot.”

The Edgwood section of Woodsdale is popular with walkers, especially in recent days as winter has turned warm.

As Marshall and Max turned onto Echo Lane, Marshall said she noticed the two rottweilers on the opposite side of the street.

One of them scampered across the street as if it wanted to play, and the other one followed.

“Then the one dog stopped in front of Max, and just towered over him,” Marshall said. “I said, ‘Come on Max,’ and we started walking away very slowly. It was then the two dogs grabbed him like a rag and dragged me up street. My knees are all scraped up.”

The aggressiveness of the rottweilers ripped the collar off of Max, as well as the coat he was wearing.

“I punched the one three times in the face,” she said. “It was just total instinct to do it. They ignored me — they just went after Max. They wanted to kill the dog and shook him in their mouths. Then one of the dogs threw him to the ground, and that’s when I threw my body on top of him to save him.”

Marshall was wearing a heavy trench coat, which she said protected her and Max.

“I rolled up in a ball and he kept clawing under me,” she said. “I kept thinking, please, somebody help. Isn’t anybody around? I didn’t think we would survive.”

A neighbor did come out and began to scream at the dogs, Marshall said. Also coming to her assistance was a school bus aide, while the bus driver stayed on the bus with the children and called for emergency responders.

Police arrived and sprayed the rottweilers with pepper spray. Marshall continued to lie on the ground until the dogs left the scene.

She looked up to see that a total of four police cars had responded, and two had left to go find the rottweilers’ owners on Heiskell Avenue.

Since the emergency call was for a woman who was being attacked by two large canines, paramedics also responded to the scene. They found that their shih tzu patient Max had extreme injuries to his stomach and buttocks areas.

They wrapped him so that he could be taken to a veterinarian.

“I’ve had him to the doctors every day since Friday, except today,” Marshall said Wednesday. “He won’t eat and he is still scared to death. We do have him drinking water now. … It’s the most frightening thing I’ve been through. I have not been out of myself since then. It was the most terrifying thing. I was never so scared.”

Since the rottweilers didn’t attack a human, the only citation that can be issued to the owners is that of allowing dogs to run loose. As of Wednesday afternoon, no citation had been issued, according to Wheeling Police Department spokesman Philip Stahl.

“The owners have been very good and told me they would take care of all expenses,” Marshall said. “They have called every night to see how Max is doing. They have been very gracious through this thing, and they understand and know the risks of their dogs.”

Neighbors have been checking in with Marshall and her husband, Chuck, to see how Max is doing.

And Tuesday the injured canine received some special visitors.

First-grade students at nearby Woodsdale Elementary School — under the direction of their teacher, Susan Brossman — crafted get-well cards for Max and marched up Maple Street to present them to him.

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