A B.C. vet has put out a warning on Facebook after her golden retriever named Goldie was attacked by some otters.
Goldie, who is owned by Dr. Claudia Campbell, was out for a walk in Beacon Hill Park with her dog walker on Tuesday when she decided to go for a swim.
According to the Facebook post from Kindred Spirits Veterinary Hospital, where Campbell works, Goldie then spotted an otter swimming nearby.
“Like any dog, Goldie decided to swim towards the otter to investigate (and let’s face it, she probably wanted to chase the otter, dogs will be dogs after all),” reads the post.
However, there were actually three otters in the water and they didn’t want to play with Goldie.
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The post states the otters grabbed Goldie and pulled her under the water.
Goldie is not small, she weighs almost 60 pounds, but she was no match for the angry otters.
“Despite her best efforts to escape they had a solid hold on her,” reads the post. “Goldie’s dog walker had to run into the ocean up past his waist and wrestle Goldie from the otters.”
By that time, only her nose was showing above the water.
“If the dog walker had not been able to intervene, this may have had an awful ending.”
The post states this is not the first time staff at the hospital have had reports of otters trying to lead dogs out into the ocean.
Goldie escaped the incident with just a few bite marks and the dog walker was a bit shaken up and cold from his chilly February swim.
The otters carried on swimming.
But staff at Kindred Spirits wanted to warn other dog owners this type of incident can happen.
“Please keep an eye out for otters while walking your dogs near water,” they wrote on Facebook. “If you notice otters at the beach, you may want to stay on leash or find another place to walk.”
Campbell did not want to talk on camera about the incident.
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