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Flanders man offering reward for helping locate dog that attacked him

COURTESY | Injuries Gregory Madr sustained to his right leg after an unknown dog attacked him in the front yard of his Flanders Road home.
COURTESY PHOTO | Injuries Gregory Madr sustained to his right leg after a dog attacked him in the front yard of his Flanders Road home.

A Flanders man is offering a monetary reward for anyone who helps locate a dog that viciously attacked him in late July — in hopes of protecting others from getting injured, he said.

Gregory Madr of Flanders is walking with a cane after sustaining fractures to more than half the vertebrae in his spine when he was attacked by a dog in his front yard July 27.

Mr. Madr, an “animal lover” and owner of two Rottweiler/pit bull-mixed canines, said he had gone out to get the mail about 3 p.m. when he saw the unknown dog out of the corner of his eye.

The dog, described as a black Rottweiler-looking mix, stands about two feet tall with dark black facial features and a greyish-blue tint to his sides, Mr. Madr said. He was wearing two black collars, one with tags and another that looked like an invisible fence shock collar.

The dog bit his right arm and leg, before knocking him onto his back, he said.

“I’ve never had an encounter like that before,” Mr. Madr said. “This dog was vicious, a vicious animal.”

His wife Debbie said she had gone outside a few minutes later to meet him.

“I saw him lying in between our two pine trees,” She said. “He was covered in blood.”

Mr. Madr was transported by Flanders-Northampton Volunteer Ambulance to Peconic Bay Medical Center. His wife said physicians told them he will likely need back surgery following the incident.

Their home, which is located directly across the street from the Flanders Senior Services Center, is enclosed in a four-foot fence with a gate (that was closed) at the end of the driveway.

Mr. Madr said the dog must have jumped the fence to get in and out of the yard, because police were unable to locate it minutes after the attack.

“We don’t want anyone else to get hurt,” Mr. Madr said. “There are lots of old people in the area and kids playing. We’re just trying to warn people.”

Mr. Madr said he would likely be out of work for the next two months, unable to run his business, G&D Custom Floor Sanding and Refinishing. “It is very painful. I can’t work. I can’t go fishing … I can’t go get my mail.”

The family said they would like to find the dog and the owner to understand why the dog acted in such a way. They did not specify how much the reward would be.

“To think there is an animal like this loose,” Mr. Madr said. “Watch out.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Southampton Animal Control at 728-PETS (7387).

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