The world’s luckiest Yorkshire terrier is thought to have survived a brutal shark attack after being bitten into the ground because the predator ‘just didn’t like the taste’.
Maddie, a nine-year-old Yorkshire terrier, was on her owner’s boat when she fell into the water off the northeast coast of Florida.
Bill and Terri Hoge watched in horror as their beloved dog disappeared beneath the waves just off the dock in St Augustine.
Ms Hoge told local news site News 4 Jax: ‘It seemed like an eternity, but it was ten seconds that she was under the water, and of course I panicked. I thought, ‘Oh my God, I’m never going to see her again.’
When Maddie suddenly resurfaced, Mr. Hoge dove into the water to save his dog, only to discover that she had multiple bite wounds, a broken pelvis, and severe bruising.
Nine-year-old Yorkshire terrier Maddie (pictured) was on her owner’s boat when she fell into the water off the northeast coast of Florida
The animal was taken to a nearby veterinary clinic.
“The vet found six deep stab wounds in one thigh, heavy bruising on the other thigh and a pelvis that was broken in three places,” Mr Hoge said.
Although Maddie’s owners suspected she was injured by the boat’s propeller, the vet thought it was a shark attack.
Mr Hoge said: ‘She called her colleagues all over the country trying to get information about what this could be and they all said it was a shark.’
It is believed the shark dragged Maddie into the waves with its jaws and shook her violently, breaking her pelvis in three places.
It is believed the pup was attacked by a bull or lemon shark (pictured) which didn’t like the taste of her fur enough to eat its meal (Stock photo)
The veterinary experts suspected that if it had been a propeller, the puppy would have split in two.
Mr. and Mrs. Hoge now suspect the predator was either a bull shark or a lemon shark. Both sharks are regularly spotted off the coast of Florida.
Bull sharks can grow up to 3.5 metres in length and lemon sharks up to 3 metres, but it is believed Maddie’s attacker was younger as the little dog managed to jump to safety.
But the Florida couple has another theory: The shark released their dog because it didn’t like the strange taste of her fur.
Maddie is still in a lot of pain, but is recovering at home.