Leash laws matter | Guest column
Published 1:30 am Sunday, November 2, 2025
Warning: The following contains graphic details of animal injuries.
by Alex Callen
Orcas Island
I awoke on Oct. 30, and for the first time in a week, I felt love and compassion in my heart. I awoke grateful and thankful for the grace of my cat’s presence in my life. She was just as sweet as she was beautiful. She was my best friend.
This was a sharp contrast to the depths of grief I have experienced day and night since Oct. 23, when Onyx, my 2-year-old Bengal cat, was killed. She was outside at home, at the OPAL, EWUA, and Reddick apartment campus on Enchanted Forest Road in Eastsound when she was violently attacked and mortally wounded by someone’s dog. The dog bit her on the back at the hips and shook her around violently. Then bit down again and vigorously thrashed her 10-pound body like a rag doll. Then, for some reason, the dog let her go. Her tail bone was separated from the base of her spine and her tail was held on by remaining flesh and fur. Her rectum and rear digestive system were lacerated and crushed beyond repair. Her claws were all visibly damaged as she had fought for her life.
She apparently used her front paws to pull herself to the edge of the breezeway between OPAL and the EWUA offices. People said she was heard meowing for help and was found there. I was contacted just after 1 p.m. and told she had been hit by a car. I rushed back home from the grocery store, where I had gone to get lunch.
When I arrived there were several people around and she was wrapped in towels and blankets and on a board so she could be moved. There was blood on the concrete of the breezeway. Thank you to all of the kind and helpful people who were there. Thank you especially to Terry, who volunteered to cover the expense of bringing her to the vet, instead of waiting to bring her to the shelter.
When the vet, Dr. Dhaliwal, first saw Onyx she immediately said it was no accident, it was an obvious attack. She took X-rays and explained that even if Onyx survived surgery from a specialist, her quality of life would be diminished. A decision was made to euthanize her. Since I found her, she had been unable to meow, though she seemed to try. I meowed, and spoke and sang to her. I was very distraught and asked to have as much time with Onyx as possible before saying goodbye.
I was crushed. I raised her up from a kitten, to a cub, to a vital and healthy young adult cat. She was just getting started. She was my best friend. The vet said it was definitely an attack – maybe a raccoon, a dog, a mink, an eagle or an owl. Regardless of who, it was definitely an attack, and not a car accident.
I needed to know what happened. I asked my friend, wildlife veterinarian Dr. Joe Gaydos, to help. I have assisted Joe with over a dozen necropsies. He agreed to do a “modified gross necropsy” on Onyx that weekend. He found internal puncture wounds that most likely reflected a bite wound from a medium to larger sized animal such as a domestic dog as well as severe hemorrhaging, muscle tearing, bruising and fractured claw tips.
Joe agreed with my decision to euthanize Onyx given the extent of her injuries, and said I should immediately report the attack to the Sheriff’s Office. If this happened while the dog was on a leash, it must’ve been horrifying to whoever was holding the other end of the leash. If this attack happened while the dog was off leash, it would be no less horrifying. There are strict leash and control laws.
Perhaps there is surveillance video, a witness, or someone who knows something about the attack. If so, please contact dispatch and leave a message for officer John Stanford. This should never have happened, and I don’t want it to happen to anyone else.
Onyx is loved and will be missed by many. None more than me. Waves of grief will continue to crash on the shores of my soul.
