Mt. Washington Dog Attacked?

MT. WASHINGTON (KDKA) -- Pittsburgh police and humane officers are going door-to-door in a Mt. Washington neighborhood looking for leads on a person who attacked a dog and left it for dead on Sunday night.

Police are convinced someone tried to decapitate the German Shepherd-Husky mix, which required over 60 stitches to close the cuts on its neck.

The eight-year old dog is amazingly healthy, considering what happened on Sunday night.

"[Someone] cut the dog's neck," Pittsburgh police officer Christine Luffey said. "Cut it in the front. There's about a five-inch cut, and on the back, there's about a six-inch cut, so we're talking almost the dog's entire head."

"We heard her whimpering terribly, and we went out to find her in a pool of blood," the dog's owner, Anna DiPerna, said.

DiPerna rushed her dog to the vet, where it seems that emergency surgery saved Sasha's life. It may have saved Anna as well, because Sasha can sense when DiPerna will have an epileptic seizure and needs her medication.

"I have no idea. I have no idea who would hurt her," DiPerna said. "She's my dog. I have epilepsy. She gets very emotional when I'm ready to have a seizure."

In the meantime, police are looking into a number of possibilities, including whether this was an intentional, malicious act or a bizarre accident that nearly killed a beautiful dog.

Officers say it is also possible that Sasha had an ingrown collar that suddenly ruptured, nearly causing the dog to bleed to death. They will not know until they consult with veterinarians tomorrow.

In the meantime, police are still pursing leads for a possible suspect.