When four males broke into a woman’s Edmonton, Alberta apartment and attacked her with a machete, her pit bull Mercey jumped in front of her and saved her life. Mercey was rushed to a vet, where 20 police officers chipped in to pay for the cost of her life-saving surgery.
Police are calling four-year-old Mercey a hero after she bore the majority of four attackers’ violence when she sacrificed herself to save her owner’s life.
“I don’t know where this assault would have ended, but I think the assault on her was effectively stopped by the dog,” said downtown Staff Sgt. Randy Wickins. “Clearly the dog received the brunt of the attack.”
She was rushed to the city’s emergency veterinary clinic where life-saving surgeries were performed. Mercey’s owner didn’t have the $400 to cover the costs, so Wickins said “at least 20” officers took money from their own wallets to save her. He says he’s proud of his fellow colleagues for their own heroic act.
“Downtown division members, that’s just the way they do things. They get things done.”
The assailants knocked on the woman’s door around 6:30 pm on Tuesday and forced their way inside once she opened the door. She knew her attackers, and violence ensued after an argument.
She sustained minor injuries, and was said to be recovering with her brave girl on Wednesday.
“The owner was with the dog and they were cuddling and the dog seemed content,” Wickins noted.
Brent Jackson, the emergency vet who cared for Mercey says she is a “very good-natured dog,” and believes she will be ready to return home soon (she may be home already). She will likely need physiotherapy to regain strength after suffering two stab wounds.
“The severity of the blows, they could very easily have fractured her spine. I think the intent was there, likely, to do that,” he said. “Fortunately, she’s a strong enough dog and a tough enough dog that that didn’t happen.”
The four males fled after their attack, but two were arrested soon after, and another the next morning. Police are still searching for 19-year-old Dylan Ian Machiskinic. The 5′-10″, 236-lb. man is prone to violence and should not be approached.
Clinton Neil Wabasca, 32, Charlie Jean Chalifoux, 18, and a 15-year-old young man have been charged with breaking and entering, assault, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public and animal cruelty. Machiskinic faces the same charges.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts should call Edmonton Police at 780-423-4567 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
