Full-grown Weimaraner attacked, injured by eagle near downtown Homer

Alaskans know what Outsiders think is only an urban legend, but it’s true, eagles will swoop down and take your small dog away for a meal if you’re not careful. But a Homer woman has a new twist that’ll make the story that much more amazing.
    An eagle in downtown Homer attacked her full-grown Weimaraner, a dog about the size of a labrador retriever, sending the pup to the vet clinic with severe injuries.
    Emily Wisdom picks up the story.
    “My sister and I were walking all three of our dogs. We have two chihuahuas also. We were walking them in the Pratt area like we always do. And we came out and we're walking on Spruce View on the sidewalk there,” Wisdom said. “And out of nowhere down, came an eagle and swooped down and attacked the big dog, knocked her into the bushes. And then once it got off of her, it kept trying to come back for more. Like crazy. Just all of a sudden, it just popped into the peripheral. And we scooped up the chihuahuas thinking we were just going to have a close call, and then my dog was barking at it and it went after her. But it was definitely the most aggressive eagle behavior I've ever seen.”
    As we said, the dog, Elby, is not tiny.
    “She's 80 pounds. (The eagle) knocked her down into the bushes and punctured her neck and her face twice. And then shredded her ear up,” Wisdom said, adding that veterinarian said they were lucky it wasn’t one of the small dogs attacked. “They said it could have been a lot worse. Definitely. It was close to her eye, and it was, you know, close to vital things in her throat. So we got lucky.”
    Wisdom says Elby is resting at home and will be fine. She says the eagle attack is just another example that you can never be too diligent when dealing with Alaska’s wildlife.