"It was worse than a horror movie. It was like something out of a nightmare. There was blood absolutely everywhere."
That's how Sheryl Elgie described the scene inside her father Robin's small trailer in the northeastern British Columbia city of Fort St. John after a Christmas day attack by two roaming pit bulls.
Elgie said the attack began after her father's partner, Wendy Lee Baker, 51, opened the trailer's door to let in their small dog. The pit bulls charged through the open door and tore the family's 15-year-old cat to pieces.
Bitten several times by the two dogs, Baker managed to lock herself in the bedroom and call 911 while Robin Elgie battled the dogs.
"As he was fighting them off he was getting more and more tired, and they backed him into a chair," his daughter told CBC News. "He was trying everything he could to fight them off. He grabbed a shelf and tried to hit them with it and get them to stop and release his arm, but they just kept coming and kept attacking him."
Weakened from blood loss and exertion, Elgie fell back into a chair "and he was just holding up his arms to try and keep them off of his body and away from his throat and neck," his daughter said
The two dogs continued to rip and tear at his arms until RCMP officers arrived.
The officers first tried sedating the dogs, but when that failed one officer shot a dog at close range inside the trailer. The second dog was also shot but escaped and was later tracked down and dispatched with a gun shot.
Sheryl Elgie, who lives in Prince George, drove to Edmonton, where her father had been airlifted for emergency surgery.
'When I first went to see dad he was in a lot of pain," she said. "Dad has always been such a strong man, so it was hard for him, for us, to see him in so much pain. He was more worried about me than himself."
After four surgeries, doctors have told her they are waiting to see whether her father will recover the use of his arms and hands. But it is unlikely the 66-year-old mechanic and heavy duty equipment operator will ever return to work.
"The dogs took chunks of flesh right out of his arms," she said. "They don't know if he will regain movement in his hands, and if that blood circulation dosen't come back to his hands, they will have to amputate."
Friends and even strangers in Fort St. John have rallied around the family. A group cleaned the couple's trailer and an online fundraising campaign has already surpassed its $10,000 goal.
Fort St. John senior attacked by pit bulls could lose use of arms, hands - Edmonton - CBC News
That's how Sheryl Elgie described the scene inside her father Robin's small trailer in the northeastern British Columbia city of Fort St. John after a Christmas day attack by two roaming pit bulls.
Elgie said the attack began after her father's partner, Wendy Lee Baker, 51, opened the trailer's door to let in their small dog. The pit bulls charged through the open door and tore the family's 15-year-old cat to pieces.
Bitten several times by the two dogs, Baker managed to lock herself in the bedroom and call 911 while Robin Elgie battled the dogs.
"As he was fighting them off he was getting more and more tired, and they backed him into a chair," his daughter told CBC News. "He was trying everything he could to fight them off. He grabbed a shelf and tried to hit them with it and get them to stop and release his arm, but they just kept coming and kept attacking him."
Weakened from blood loss and exertion, Elgie fell back into a chair "and he was just holding up his arms to try and keep them off of his body and away from his throat and neck," his daughter said
The two dogs continued to rip and tear at his arms until RCMP officers arrived.
The officers first tried sedating the dogs, but when that failed one officer shot a dog at close range inside the trailer. The second dog was also shot but escaped and was later tracked down and dispatched with a gun shot.
Sheryl Elgie, who lives in Prince George, drove to Edmonton, where her father had been airlifted for emergency surgery.
'When I first went to see dad he was in a lot of pain," she said. "Dad has always been such a strong man, so it was hard for him, for us, to see him in so much pain. He was more worried about me than himself."
After four surgeries, doctors have told her they are waiting to see whether her father will recover the use of his arms and hands. But it is unlikely the 66-year-old mechanic and heavy duty equipment operator will ever return to work.
"The dogs took chunks of flesh right out of his arms," she said. "They don't know if he will regain movement in his hands, and if that blood circulation dosen't come back to his hands, they will have to amputate."
Friends and even strangers in Fort St. John have rallied around the family. A group cleaned the couple's trailer and an online fundraising campaign has already surpassed its $10,000 goal.
Fort St. John senior attacked by pit bulls could lose use of arms, hands - Edmonton - CBC News
