Vet Shares Important Message For Dog Owners After Vicious Attack


Be honest with me for a moment, do you share everything about your health with your physician every time you visit them?

More than likely, you stretch the truth to a certain extent. You may tell them that you only have an occasional glass of wine or that you’ve never smoked a cigarette in your life. When it comes to the situation that brought you into their office, however, you are likely to be more forthcoming with the facts.

It would stand to reason that the same would also be true when you take your dog to the veterinarian. When the vet asks you any questions about the visit, you would want to be open and honest with them. They want to know the answer to those questions for a reason, and it can benefit everyone in the room.

Lisa Schroeder is a veterinarian who found herself in a rather difficult situation at work. When one of her patients brought their 94-pound dog in for a treatment, she first asked the owners if he was a friendly dog. They nodded their head, yes.

It wasn’t long before Lisa realized that they weren’t coming forward with the entire truth. She crouched down to get a closer look at the pooch who had a rising heart rate. Immediately, she had a sinking feeling. That is when the owner spoke up and said: “He does have a temper sometimes.” That is when the unthinkable took place.

“As I started to back away from the dog, he lunged at me, biting into my forearm,” Lisa posted in a now viral Facebook post. “Not only did he hold on, but he started jerking on my arm, as well, while the owner pulled on his retractable leash to get him off. When he let go, I was able to crawl into the corner of the room, all the while, the dog still barking and lunging at me.”

When the dog was finally able to be taken from the room by the owners, Lisa got in touch with her boss. Her boss is also an EMT so he bandaged the wounds and sent her to the hospital emergency room.

In order to determine if any of the dog’s teeth were stuck in her arm, they took an x-ray. They then gave her 9 stitches and sent her on her way. There was a winter storm raging outside so she was stuck at the office for two days after that ordeal.

“Every time I laid down to rest between shifts, I spent a good 20 minutes thinking about a huge dog with my arm in his mouth, and my boss cleaning pieces of my flesh off my shirt sleeve so I didn’t have see it while I rode to the hospital,” she wrote in her post.

Like many veterinarians, Lisa loves her job but she wants all dog owners who take their pets to the vet to know one thing. They should always be honest and upfront with their veterinarian.

“If your dog has a history of snapping, biting or even being kind of sketchy at the vet’s office, you need to be honest and up front about it,” she said. “You have to give me a chance to keep myself safe.”

Lisa has spent time in a combat zone when she was in the Army. Even though that is the case, she still says the dog attack was the most frightening encounter she has ever had in her life.


log in

Become a part of our community!

reset password

Back to
log in