Pet deaths caused by porcupines are rare in New Jersey, a state official said. Chester, a pitbull-mix, died during a surgery to remove quills that were left inside the dog after a violent encounter with a porcupine.
Miranda DeGennaro, center, with her mother, brother and dog, Chester.A Sussex County family is in mourning following the death of their 9-year-old dog, Chester, a week after a violent encounter with a porcupine left barbed quills inside and outside of the pitbull-mix’s body.
But what concerned veterinarians the most was the quills they couldn’t see, the quills Chester swallowed during the encounter. “The quills don’t really show up in CAT scans and x-rays, the damage is what shows up,” DeGennaro said. “I’ve been here for 16 years and this is the first time I’ve heard of anything like this,” Hajna said. “Our general advice has been to never approach wildlife. Period.”
“When Oradell did his surgery, they found in his pericardium, which is the sac around your heart,” DeGennaro said. “So, the quills were everywhere — around his heart, his lungs, his esophagus and in his digestive system.”