Years after fighting for our country in Iraq, Cherice Jackson found herself in another fight – this time for her best friend, her therapy dog Ms. Pooh.
Jackson said two pit bulls mauled Ms. Pooh to death and she couldn’t stop it.
"I spent probably 20, 30 minutes trying to wrestle her from him," Jackson told Channel 2's Justin Wilfon. "It's probably the worst thing I've ever seen. I felt like I couldn't do anything. I feel like I failed her."
She said shortly after taking her dog out for a walk early Friday morning in her Decatur neighborhood, the pit bulls attacked.
Jackson suffered cuts and bruises, but her dog was gone.
“When I was finally able to get ahold of her and get her in the house and see the damage they did to her, it hurt … because she was my baby,” Jackson said.
DeKalb County Animal Control set a trap with the hope of catching the pit bulls that animal control believes are strays.
Jackson suffers from PTSD and her dog comforted her after she came home from war.
Blake Rashad, the founder of the Top Dog Canine Foundation, told Wilfon he was about to evaluate Ms. Pooh to see if the therapy dog could become Jackson's service dog.
“That’s what these dogs do. They bring her anxiety down. They help with depression,” Rashad said.
For now, Jackson’s heartbroken that she couldn’t save the life of the dog that made her life so much better.
“She’s like … been everything to me,” Jackson said.
The Top Dog organization is now raising money to pay for a new service dog for Jackson.
DeKalb Animal Control continues to look for the dogs responsible, but so far, no luck.
Jackson wants them put down when or if they are caught.
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