- Never underestimate what a pissed-off dog can do to wreck you.
You step out of your home after a well-slept night on a bright morning, ready to go to work… And your car is a complete wreck.
Who would you blame? Hooligans or no-good punk kids? Maybe aliens?
How about dogs?
Nah, that would be crazy. Unfortunately for one Florida woman, her car had just such a crazy incident.
Two supposedly feral dogs attacked Christie Barr’s vehicle in the dead of night and went to town. She woke up to find the car’s bumper torn half-off, alongside a fender and mudflaps.
Altogether, the canine attack has left Barr with a $3,000 repair bill. And, of course, her insurance company has washed its hands of the matter and left her to pay for the damages on her own.
There’s a potentially bigger issue at hand than money, though. Namely, the dogs capable of chewing through a car are still running wild out there.
A Nasty Surprise
Barr is a resident of Jacksonville, Florida. On the weekend of March 23-24, she was sleeping peacefully in her home, with no idea what was happening outside.
When she woke in the morning, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Someone had wrecked her car overnight.
Pictures Barr has shared with the media show her Honda’s bumper partially torn off, with small holes along its loose edge. The fender and mudflap had also been ripped out from around the tire.
Shocked, Barr’s first thought was that some roaming vandals had gone to town on her car.
“I thought somebody had maybe taken a BB gun and shot my car,” Barr told WSVN.
That’s kind of a strange assumption, considering the bumper was hanging off. But hey, it would’ve maybe explained the small holes.
Barr was prepared, however, and had set up security cameras to monitor her driveway. She got on her computer, presumable ready to share the hooligans’ faces with the police.
Shock Footage
We can only imagine Barr’s jaw dropped for a second time that morning when she checked the surveillance footage. The recorded video didn’t show human delinquents destroying her car.
Instead, it was a pair of dogs.
The video showed a cat (reportedly belonging to Barr’s neighbor) sitting by her car at night. Suddenly, two dogs come charging out of the night.
Scared, the car slithered its way under Barr’s vehicle and climbed behind the engine. Yet, the dogs were out for blood and they weren’t about to give up easily.
The video then shows the dog tearing into Barr’s Honda, chewing through body panels and tearing off parts as they try to get to the cat.
If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the dogs eventually give up and leave before reaching the kitty.
“There’s no doubt in my mind had they gotten that cat, she wouldn’t be here today,” Barr said.
‘They Could Tear a Human Being Up’
Following the dog attack, Barr is facing a couple of problems. The first is, of course, the damage to her car.
According to Barr’s accounts to media outlets, her insurance company towed her wrecked car. It’s not totaled but the repairs will cost an estimated $3,000 — and Barr has to cover the repairs herself.
Why do we even pay for insurance, really?
Then there’s the second problem, which may be more pressing. As far as Barr and everyone else in her neighborhood know, the dogs are still out there.
They don’t appear to belong to anyone in the neighborhood and, according to the grainy surveillance footage, they don’t seem to be wearing collars. There’s a good chance they’re feral dogs prowling the streets.
Understandably, the entire neighborhood is now concerned about being attacked by vicious hounds.
“If they can do that to metal on a car, they could tear a human being up,” Barr said, summarizing the entire neighborhood’s worries.
“You need to take care of them. Don’t let them be out running the streets during the middle of the night.”
On March 26, Barr said she had contacted animal control but hadn’t received a response. Hopefully something is done about the dogs before they tear up another car — or something else.
More Attacks in Texas
Bizarre as the dog attack in Jacksonville is, it’s not an isolated case. A similar incident took place in Texas in November 2023, only there were three attacks, and the damages were much more expensive.
Between November 6-18, stray dogs attacked parked vehicles at a G Motors dealership near Houston. Just like with Barr’s car, the animals ripped off bumpers and fenders in an attempt to get to a cowering cat.
Put together, the dogs cost the dealership up to $350,000 in damages.
“You just never think a dog has the kind of power to tear up a car like that,” said Gaby Fakhoury, the dealership’s sales manager.