Dori Lowe and Maxi

Courtesy photo

CANYON LAKE — Two months have passed since a horrific June dog attack incident on Maxi, a 5-year-old half-Arabian, who is still recovering from the mauling.

Owner Dori Lowe described what happened to her and Maxi while riding on a Bureau of Land Management trail in Canyon Lake the morning of June 27. She said she first noticed a woman with a pit bull mix off the leash near the trail. Thirty minutes later, as she was riding to the barn along a trail behind baseball fields, the same dog ran up to her and Maxi and began biting at Lowe’s boots.

“The dog’s owner said her daughter used to have a horse, and the dog loved to play with boots and stirrups,” Lowe said.

Trying to get away from the dog, Lowe said she turned Maxi around.

Instead of stopping, the dog grabbed Maxi’s tail and started pulling her.

“Once the dog tore the tail wrap, the dog bit both of Maxi’s legs and her stomach,” said Dori. “I couldn’t get the dog to stop and the woman just stood there and watched.”
Lowe said after the dog bit Maxi, it went for her, tearing her pants, grabbing her by her jacket and pulling her off the horse. Once Dori fell off the horse, the horse took off running toward the barn.

“I turned around to look back at the women and she was just walking away back towards the jump lagoon,” said Lowe.

After reporting the incident to the Riverside Police Department, Animal Control and Canyon Lake Community Patrol, Lowe took to social media in hopes of finding the dog’s owner. Her efforts paid off. Dori discovered that the dog’s owner is a Canyon Lake resident. She reported the information to the authorities, who located the owner.

According to published reports, the dog’s owner received a $100 Administrative Citation for violation of running at large and was put on a 36-month probation public safety order. As a condition of probation, the dog must be on a leash no longer than six-feet and wear a muzzle when in public for the next three years, Lowe said. The dog reportedly had been vaccinated and up-to-date on its shots, but was not licensed. The owner was cited for the license violation.

“My horse can hardly walk and I cannot work now,” said Lowe. “The dog, ‘Buddy’, should be euthanized, and the owner should be in jail.”

Even after the Animal Control’s $100 fine for the dog being off a leash, Lowe said the dog’s owner still walks the dog with no leash or muzzle.

“She feels above the law and the hundreds of thousands of dollars to take care of my horse and myself or the rest of our lives doesn’t seem to matter,” she said.

Since the incident, Maxi has received many visitors at the barn. Lowe said she is grateful for the support of the community and her friends at the barn.

“Maxi loves the attention and the carrots she’s been getting from the kids,” she said. “It is so sweet to know that Maxi is loved by such kind people in the community.”