NJ Dog Dies After Porcupine Attack, Owner Left With $20K Bill

SUSSEX COUNTY - A North Jersey family is reeling from the loss of their 9-year-old dog, Chester, who died after a fight with a porcupine left harmful quills inside his body.

The owner of the Pitbull mix, Miranda DeGennaro, told NJ.com that Chester was on a deck outside a family home in Montague when the two animals began to brawl around 2 a.m. Sep. 2.

While quills covered the dog’s face, chest and abdomen, additional barbs that he swallowed went “everywhere” in his body, including a sac around his heart, DeGennaro told the publication.

Despite not having the funds for a $12,000 down payment for surgery to save the dog’s life, DeGennaro moved ahead with the procedure, she told the outlet. The Oradell Animal Hospital in Bergen County agreed to do the surgery and bill DeGennaro at a later time.

However, Chester died during the surgery on Saturday, DeGennaro said in a Facebook post, but the emotional and financial pain of the death lingers. Her veterinary bill now amounts to around $20,000.

A GoFundMe created for Chester’s medical bills has raised over $6,300 as of Wednesday morning.

“Wanted to give one last PSA of the dangers of porcupines: Had I known there was any potential for my boy's life to be risked I would have taken more precautions to prevent anything like this from happening,” DeGennaro said in a Facebook post on Saturday.

“$20,000 in debt and all the support in the world wasn’t enough to fix the damage the quills did. I wish with every being of my soul this wasn’t the outcome,” DeGennaro added. “Please please please, watch out for porcupines at night and keep them as far away as possible from your fur babies.”

A New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection spokesman told Patch that the case is extremely rare and that "long-time New Jersey Fish & Wildlife staff could not recall any incidents like this." For more information regarding porcupines in New Jersey, click here.