Blind Man In Coma After His Guide Dog Attacked

[Baby Dragon]

A BLIND man was critically injured when an unprovoked attack on his guide dog caused him to plunge off a pier.

David Correa lost his balance and fell into the water at Victoria's Hastings pier after an uncontrolled dog lunged at his guide dog.

His distraught wife, Flavia, said he was in an induced coma at The Alfred Hospital after suffering broken ribs, a broken collarbone and a fractured spine. The 34-year-old recently had both kidney and pancreatic surgery.

Mr Correa and his friend John Quilligan were out walking with their guide dogs in Hastings on January 20 when they encountered another dog on the pier. Mr Quilligan said the owner grabbed the dog around the neck and pulled it back away from Kel, Mr Correa's guide dog.

"David's dog spun around that quickly, he let go of the harness and chain. He spun in the air, flipped and fell into the water," Mr Quilligan said.

A good Samaritan jumped in after him, keeping his head above water until paramedics arrived.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-...x-1225823793715

A BLIND Cranbourne man suffered spinal injuries when he plunged from Hastings pier after his guide dog was attacked by an out-of-control dog.

A woman, alerted by the shouts of other blind men in the walking group, jumped down and held David Correa’s head above water until paramedics arrived.

Witnesses said the aggressive dog’s owner left the scene without checking if Mr Correa had survived his fall into shallow water on the mud flats.

Friend John Quilligan said people yelled at the woman to bring her dog under control because the men were blind.

“She just said, ‘well, their dogs aren’t blind’ and promptly walked away. It’s disgusting,” he said.

Mr Correa, 34, was taken by ambulance to Frankston Hospital and later to the Alfred hospital with broken ribs, a broken collarbone and a fractured spine.

His wife Flavia said he was devastated by what happened.

“He is very broken and in agony,” she said. “He is on a lot of medication for the pain and drifts in and out of wakefulness.

“When he comes to, he says ‘I can’t believe this has happened to me’.

“Dog owners have a responsibility to keep their animals under control, especially in the vicinity of guide dogs.”

Mr Quilligan said the incident, which happened about 1.30pm on January 20 when the men’s group was on a Vision Australia outing, was “a very frightening ordeal”. “

Mr Correa, a father of one from Cranbourne, has been blind for two years after contracting diabetes.

http://frankston-leader.whereilive.com.au/...rror-unleashed/

Edited January 30, 2010 by Baby Dragon

[persephone]

Ahh, shite.

That poor man injured, and, in all probablity, his dog will be now unable to work reliably again, due to the effects of being attacked.

How sad. :D

[Rozzie]

Awful. Shame on the woman who walked away. What disgusting behaviour.

[spottychick]

Well it's not clear that the dog actually attacked - the details are a bit vague to say the least. It sounds like the other dog didn't even have a collar on tho (owner grabbed it "around the neck) and must have acted in an aggressive way of some kind (barking etc) to cause the guide dog to react.

The owner of the other dog sounds like a complete moron. I hope they find her but don't blame the dog - the woman was the idiot in this scenario.

Poor guy - hope he gets thru this okay.

[Kody's_Mum]

What a horrible thing to have happened. How that woman could walk away is beyond me! :D

Hopefully David makes a speedy recovery - however I am sure both he and his dog will be traumatised by this event for a very long time.

[MyDogToby]

Poor guy, I hope he recovers quickly. The owner of the other dog sounds like a complete moron. :D

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

People are so callous, I find it unbelievable but it is such common behaviour where their dogs have attacked someone or another dog.

An elderly lady that adopted a dog from me 2 years ago was on her daily walk with her little dog when someone came along with a dog on an extender lead. The dog extended it's lead and immediately, without provocation of any kind, attacked the lady's 13 yr old dog. In the ensuing struggle, the lady and her little dog ended up in the gutter screaming for help. Man with the dog took off.

A family came along and helped the lady, the dog had some serious injuries and the vet bill so far, is in excess of $5,000. It's a miracle the little mite has survived and that the lady was willing to pay such an enormous bill.

[Kelly_Louise]

Utterly disgusting behaviour on the part of the (very smug) woman. Where is the humanity? No, the dogs aren't blind - but they are very precisely aiding people who CAN NOT SEE - and can't be distracted by an attack or unwarranted behaviour of any kind. I just find it... well, incredulous that someone can be so obtuse. To not even check or ask if the poor man was okay??? WTF???

I hope they find this woman, and that she faces some harsh penalties. The man could have been killed - and I do hope he is able to continue working with his dog and that it has not suffered any ill effects. It would be terribly heartbreaking if after building such a strong and trusting bond with your dog, that it may have to come to an end because of some moron.

I also hope he recovers soon, both physically and emotionally. Seems he's been through the wringer with the surgeries and such... didn't need this.

All I can say to that 'woman' is... KARMA baby, KARMA.

Oh, and to the lovely lady who jumped down and helped the man - :D I do hope good things come your way for being so... well, human. :D

Edited January 30, 2010 by Kelly_Louise

[Winterpaws]

I hope they find the woman, I hope they publish her name and photo in the paper

I hope he sues her ass

I hope the guide dog people sue her ass if the guide dog is no longer able to work

Time for the irresponsible dog owners to start paying - hit em where it hurts and the message might finally get through

[Jed]

How horrid. what a bogan woman.

What don't these idiots understand about "keep your dog on a leash". Do they not know, or not care? both probably.

Good vibes to poor David and his poor guide dog.

[OSoSwift]

Another example of a horrendous human being.

I hope they find her and she pays for everything including the mans hospital expenses. And if she can't put her in jail.

What a nasty cow, how on earth can a person walk away from another injured person without a backward glance? Just disgusting

[GeckoTree]

Friend John Quilligan said people yelled at the woman to bring her dog under control because the men were blind.

“She just said, ‘well, their dogs aren’t blind’ and promptly walked away. It’s disgusting,” he said.

I hope that woman never finds herself sudenly without sight, some people have really strange negative reactions when they find themselves in the wrong, and are asked to do whats right.

Then again she could just be a horrid person with a heart of stone.

[MelissaS]

Utterly disgusting behaviour on the part of the (very smug) woman. Where is the humanity? No, the dogs aren't blind - but they are very precisely aiding people who CAN NOT SEE - and can't be distracted by an attack or unwarranted behaviour of any kind. I just find it... well, incredulous that someone can be so obtuse. To not even check or ask if the poor man was okay??? WTF???

I hope they find this woman, and that she faces some harsh penalties. The man could have been killed - and I do hope he is able to continue working with his dog and that it has not suffered any ill effects. It would be terribly heartbreaking if after building such a strong and trusting bond with your dog, that it may have to come to an end because of some moron.

I also hope he recovers soon, both physically and emotionally. Seems he's been through the wringer with the surgeries and such... didn't need this.

All I can say to that 'woman' is... KARMA baby, KARMA.

Oh, and to the lovely lady who jumped down and helped the man - I do hope good things come your way for being so... well, human.

Ditto :D

How terrifying for them.

Hope David recovers quickly and the dog.

[Jigsaw]

An absolutely awful thing to have happened to David and the guide dogs. Hopefully both he and the dog make a full recovery and able to go for walks in their community safely again. Hope the silly woman gets everything she deserves.

Maybe guide dogs should have little cameras on their collars that take photos every few seconds so that when something like this there is a record and prosecution could follow. http://www.dogcamsport.co.uk/Dogcollar.htm

[ShepherdAngels]

OMG that's terrible. I hope he has a speedy recovery and that the guide dog is ok and able to still work.

When I see a guide dog I always move away and give them room to do there job.

How disrespectful of the dog owner.

[Pete.the.dog]

This makes me feel sick

[Baby Dragon]

Update:

Action on vicious dog 'vital' after Hastings attack

GUIDE Dogs Victoria has urged the State Government to take action on dangerous dogs as a Cranbourne vision-impaired man continues to fight for his life in hospital.

The organisation has called for action against owners of high-risk breeds who allow their animals to go unrestrained in the streets.

On January 20, David Correa was seriously injured when he fell from Hastings pier after a dog attacked his guide dog.

Mr Correa, 34, suffered a fractured spine, broken ribs and a broken collar bone when he plunged into the shallow water on the mud flats below.

The guide dogs organisation has also called on dog owners to keep their animals on a leash and control them so they can’t approach working guide dogs.

Guide Dog Services manager Stewart Blair said he had received complaints from vision-impaired clients whose guide dogs had been attacked by unrestrained dogs.

“Not only are unrestrained dogs a danger to the community but to the vision-impaired person with a guide dog. An attack of this nature robs them of their confidence and independence,” Mr Blair said.

“Even if you perceive your dog is gentle and would not attack, it could still distract a guide dog and endanger a vision-impaired person’s safety.”

The organisation said it had to retire many guide dogs because dog attacks had caused irreparable damage to their working ability.

Mr Correa was taken to Frankston Hospital before being transferred to the Alfred Hospital.

His condition deteriorated last weekend and he was moved into the hospital’s intensive care unit.

The woman whose dog attacked Mr Correa’s dog, Kel, has not yet been found.

http://cranbourne-leader.whereilive.com.au...k-action-vital/

[dogbesotted]

what a tragedy! ppor man he has already been thru so much.

shame on that woman whose idiocy allowed this to happen. i hope that she is named and shamed... at the very least.

the good samaritan restores ones faith in the essential goodness of my fellow human beings.

H

[Guest Willow]

Is leaving the scene of an accident not a criminal offence??? Surely if you have caused an acident on foot & run away it's the same as say, a hit & run in a car????

[♪♫LMBC♫♪]

Is leaving the scene of an accident not a criminal offence??? Surely if you have caused an acident on foot & run away it's the same as say, a hit & run in a car????

I'm sure it is. Especially when the other person is injured.