Perth woman Nikita Piil, who was last year savagely mauled by her two rottweilers while trying to settle them during an incident in the neighbourhood, has expressed her grief in a heartbreaking tribute.
Her beloved pets Harlem and Bronx were both killed over the attack, one shot by police as it happened last September, and the other euthanised a month later after being deemed as dangerous.
Neighbours had unsuccessfully used leaf blowers, hoses and bats in an attempt to stop the dogs, but when it became clear Piil’s life was in danger, a police officer deployed their firearm.
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Despite coming close to death on several occasions, suffering bite wounds, the near-loss of her arm, major blood loss, and complications from canine bacterial infection, it is the pain of life without her pets that remains with her.
She expressed the impact of her loss in a brief update to her social media account, writing: “I am nothing without you.”
“Harlem & Bronx, you made me the proudest Rottweiler Mama on the planet,” she added.
Before their deaths, Piil had shared several social media posts demonstrating her affection for her two dogs.
Her sister Natasha Piil said friends and family had “witnessed how much they loved her too”.
“Unfortunately, she got caught in a crossfire calming her dogs down due to an incident within the neighbourhood,” she said.
But Piil’s pain is not new — the Perth woman has previously released statements explaining what life without Harlem and Bronx has been like for her.
“My existence is forever altered, irrevocably changed in your absence, I’m broken. Harlem and Bronx,” she said following the attack.