A Huntington woman said her dog was critically injured last week when it was attacked by geese at Heckscher Park.
Writing on Facebook, Donna Greaves said she was walking with her son and her dog on a leash in the town park on Thursday when it was suddenly was attacked by five geese. leaving the dog blinded in one eye. She expects to hear more on Thursday about the next steps of treatment.
Her dog, George, is 10, and is a Havanese poodle mix.
“It happened in 2 seconds. Of course I would have grabbed him or fought it off my dog. They flew at us. Was horrible. Didn’t see any babies around,” she wrote.
It’s just so sad,” Greaves told HuntingtonNow. “He’s such a sweet dog. We are there al the time. The five of them just shot up and flew into us.” She said her dog was “beaten” by the powerful wings of the geese, with its eye and parts of its face pushed in.
The pond in particular and parts of Heckscher Park in general are filled with wildlife as a swans, turtles, ducks, fish and geese are thriving and in many cases, producing babies. On Tuesday, a swan swam about as it ushered its cygnets around the pond, turtles of various sizes could be seen in the pond and resting on sticks and rocks protruding from the water, and ducks and geese herded their babies alongside or on the edges of the pond.
While many of the dozens of animals seen on Tuesday were quite visible from a safe distance, a couple of geese suddenly popped out of the wildgrass and honked as they checked out the humans and dogs passing by.
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- The area around Heckscher Park pond was alive with birds, turtles and humans of all ages on Tuesday.
Thank you for reporting on this heartbreaking situation. This owner and her family must be devastated. I know her dog, George, from walking in the Park with my dog. A sweet, gentle, non-aggressive animal. Prayers he is restored and heals.