PORTLAND, Ore. — Grace Kuehne and Thomas Jaszcult are a young couple living in Southeast Portland. They just got married a few days ago and love walking their puppy, Zuko, through Essex Park.
But this Wednesday was different when their leisurely walk turned into them fighting a pit bull who had its teeth clenched onto their puppy’s stomach.
“There was like no time to react at all," said Kuehne. “The pit bull just took our dog Zuko and immediately ran onto the grass and started thrashing him around like he was a rag doll.”
Kuehne said Jaszcult began kicking and punching the aggressive dog, trying to get it to let go of Zuko.
“When the owners came, they were also kicking and punching their dog to get the dog off," she continued. "Once the dog was officially off of our dog, that is when the pit bull snapped and got my hands.”
Kuehne said parents from a nearby Little League game rushed over to help her and Zukoh, who were both bleeding pretty badly.
In the midst of this, they said the pit bull’s owner took off.
“They were afraid that we would potentially press charges, get their information and make them pay for veterinarian bills," Kuehne told KGW. "They just fled the scene because they were afraid of what would happen to their own dog.”
The couple took Zuko to DoveLewis Emergency and Specialty Hospital, where veterinarians told them he lost 50% off his blood and was in critical condition for 12 hours while they performed multiple surgeries.
“At that point, we were really worried he wasn’t going to make it through the surgery,” said Jaszcult. "Ultimately, he did, and he responded them a lot by the speed of his recovery. They seem kind of astounded at how well he had recovered.”
The newlyweds started a GoFundMe to help with the $12,000 they now have in medical bills.
“The hope would be to put that dog down,” said Kuehne. "It’s a danger to the community."
As of Saturday, Zuko was able to go home from the ICU. Doctors told the couple that Zuko should be back to normal over time, but will need "constant care, attention and medication" over the next four weeks.