KEY POINTS

  • The dog swallowed several quills that damaged his organs internally
  • The family warned other pet owners to beware of porcupines at night
  • Porcupine attacks are rare in the area, a concerned official revealed

A family in Montague, New Jersey, was in mourning after their beloved 9-year-old dog named died after a violent confrontation with a porcupine, reports said.

The brutal porcupine attack that took place in the family's backyard on Sept. 2, left the pitbull-mix named Chester with barbed quills on the face, mouth and chest, among other parts of the body, Daily Voice reported.

The family believed that Chester had also swallowed several quills during the porcupine encounter.

While the owners took the dog to the hospital for treatment, the veterinarians were unable to remove all the quills from his body.

"They said at the animal hospital they have never seen quills that bad in their entire life," Chester's 22-year-old owner Miranda DeGennaro said Tuesday. "The quills don't really show up in CAT scans and x-rays, the damage is what shows up."

After surgery, it was revealed that the quills had reached multiple organs of the dog's body, including his heart, lungs, esophagus as well as digestive system.

"You can't even do anything to see exactly where they are, so they did the best they could. But being that he swallowed some, they just went everywhere," DeGennaro added.

In a post on Facebook after the incident, DeGennaro warned dog parents to be aware of porcupines at night. "I never knew how deadly they were until now," she wrote.

According to Larry Hajna, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, encounters or deaths of animals by porcupines are rare in the state.

"I've been here for 16 years and this is the first time I've heard of anything like this," Hajna said. "Our general advice has been to never approach wildlife. Period."

DeGennaro, who works as a housekeeper, said Chester lived with her family since he was a puppy. After the dog's death Saturday, the family is working on saving the money to pay the veterinary bill, amounting to more than $19,500. A friend created a GoFundMe page before Chester passed away with the aim of aiding the family to pay the veterinary bills.

"I really thought he was going to make it. I'm devastated," DeGennaro added.

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Dog Left Covered in Porcupine Quills After Tussle With Animal
Chester, the 9-year-old Pitbull mix, was left covered in quills after the attack. [Representational image]
New Jersey