Family dog dies after fight with porcupine outside N.J. home

A Sussex County family is in mourning following the death of their 9-year-old dog, Chester, a week after a violent encounter with a porcupine left barbed quills inside and outside of the pitbull-mixs body.

They said at the animal hospital they have never seen quills that bad in their entire life, Chesters owner, Miranda DeGennaro, 22, said Tuesday.

The dog was on a deck outside the family home in Montague when the fight broke out between the porcupine and Chester at about 2 a.m. on Sept. 2, DeGennaro said.

We saw him running and barking, so we ran down the deck, but it was too late, she said.

DeGennaro believes her dog attacked the porcupine, which left quills on the pets face, chest and abdomen.

But what concerned veterinarians the most was the quills they couldnt see, the quills Chester swallowed during the encounter. The quills dont really show up in CAT scans and x-rays, the damage is what shows up, DeGennaro said.

You cant 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 said.

Chester, a pitbull-mix, died Saturday during surgery to remove the porcupine needles.Photo courtesy of Miranda DeGennaro

Larry Hajna, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said while dogs have been killed in encounters with other wildlife in New Jersey, deaths by porcupines are rare.

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

Porcupines are mostly active at night and will use their thousands of needle-like hairs to defend themselves from predators, including dogs, according to Wildlifehelp.org, a website that compiles advice from state wildlife management agencies.

Dogs never seem to learn to avoid them, so keep dogs confined or on a leash when a porcupine is in the neighborhood, the website said.

Initially, DeGennaro took her dog to a veterinarian in Newton who removed 20 quills from the exterior of the animal. They recommended taking Chester to Oradell Animal Hospital in Bergen County, where surgeries are performed, she said.

When Oradell did his surgery, they found (a needle) in his pericardium, which is the sac around your heart, DeGennaro said. So, the quills were everywhere around his heart, his lungs, his esophagus and in his digestive system.

The concern was that the needles were migrating, or moving, and that the needle near the dogs heart would pierce the organ. She said she agreed to do the surgery, even after she said the hospital asked for a $12,000 down payment.

DeGennaro said she didnt have the down payment, but the veterinary hospital agreed to do the surgery to save the dogs life, telling her she would be responsible for the bill at another time.

He really did need the surgery and obviously we all thought he was going to live, DeGennaro said. It was really important for him to get the surgery.

DeGennaro said Chester, who lived with her and her family since he was a puppy, died during the surgery on Saturday. Now DeGennaro, who works as a housekeeper, said shes unsure how shes going to pay the veterinary bill, which totals more than $19,500.

Officials at Oradell Animal Hospital did not immediately return a call to comment.

A family friend created a GoFundMe page before Chester died to help pay for veterinary bills. As of Tuesday, the site had raised more than $1,800.

DeGennaro said she and her family members hope to get the word out to other dog owners to be watchful of porcupines roaming their neighborhoods. She doesnt want anyone else to go through a costly, heartbreaking and avoidable tragedy, she said.

I really thought he was going to make it. Im devastated, she said.

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Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.