A Northern Pike (left); Murphy recovering from his wounds. (image courtesy of KTOO)

When North Pole, Alaska resident, Shannon Dhondt took her dogs to the local gravel pit in late October, she didn’t expect her husky/greyhound mix to get mauled.

When she got closer she realized a large fish (at least 3 feet long) had attached itself to her dog, Murphy’s, muzzle. With 300 to 700 razor-sharp teeth Pike can do some serious damage.

Murphy managed to dislodge the fish from his muzzle but did not avoid injury. As seen in the accompanying photo, the dog’s leg and muzzle received significant gashes that resulted in substantial bleeding. Thankfully, Murphy has since made a full recovery.

Pike attacking dogs may seem unusual, but these fish are predisposed to eat and have been known to attack small waterfowl and animals, which may explain the fish mistaking the dog’s snout for a bird.

Here at fishncanada.com, we have covered numerous incidents of pike attacking humans, but this is the first report of a dog being attacked.