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The DeGennaro family of Montague had to say goodbye to their pitbull-mix, Chester, on Saturday, Sept. 10, eight days after he was brutally attacked by a porcupine in the family’s backyard, according to a GoFundMe and posts on social media.
A video clip of the attack’s aftermath shows the poor pup’s face, mouth, and chest covered in quills:
"Ever since this happened I’ve been wanting to spread awareness about porcupines," owner Miranda DeGennaro tells Daily Voice. "I had no clue how dangerous they were, and that we even had any in our area."
While the family initially had hopes that Chester would pull through and make a full recovery after having emergency procedures at both Newton Vet and Oradell Animal Hospital, Miranda told NJ.com that a needle was found in the sac around his heart, meaning that the quills had migrated and pierced his organs.
“There were well over 20 quills stuck in his chest/abdomen,” reads the fundraiser, launched by Kaitlyn Wunder on the family’s behalf.
Now, the family is left approximately $20,000 in debt — with nothing to show for it except their broken hearts and fierce warnings to fellow pet owners.
“Had I known there was any potential for my boy’s life to be risked I would have taken more precautions to prevent anything like this from happening,” writes Miranda DeGennaro in a Facebook post.
“Please please please, watch out for porcupines at night and keep them as far away as possible from your fur babies.”
More than $2,100 had been raised on the campaign’s $5,000 goal as of Tuesday, Sept. 13.
“$20,000 in debt and all the support in the world wasn’t enough to fix the damage the quills did,” DeGennaro writes. “I wish with every being of my soul this wasn’t the outcome.”
Click here to view/donate on GoFundMe.
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