New Jersey family warns dog owners of porcupine perils after run-in proves fatal for beloved pet

A New Jersey family is devastated after their dog’s run-in with a porcupine proved fatal.

Nine-year-old Chester died a week after attacking a porcupine on the deck of the Sussex County family’s home, reported NJ.com.

“We saw him running and barking, so we ran down the deck, but it was too late,” dog owner Miranda DeGennaro told NJ.com on Tuesday of the Sept. 2 attack.

Miranda DeGennaro shared a video of 9-year-old Chester after the dog's fight with a porcupine.

The pit-bull mix pup’s ill-fated encounter began at about 2 a.m., DeGennaro recounted. When it was over, the canine was full of quills.

A North American porcupine sports a good 30,000 quills, each one armed with 700 or 800 barbs on the four millimeters closest to the tip, according to Science magazine.

A vet was able to remove dozens sticking out of Chester’s face, neck, chest and paws, according to a Facebook post from DeGennaro, 22.

“They said at the animal hospital they have never seen quills that bad in their entire life,” DeGennaro told NJ.com.

The third-largest rodent, porcupines weigh between 15 and 35 pounds, according to Veterinary Centers of America Inc., a nationwide network of animal hospitals. Their quills are actually modified hairs and are covered with scales that act like fishhook barbs, which helps them travel deeper in once they’re embedded in soft tissue.

A photo of Chester from a GoFundMe to raise money for his surgery.

There, they can pierce vulnerable organs. While the quills are not poisonous, they can carry bacteria that could cause infection, VCA’s website says.

“The quills don’t really show up in CAT scans and X-rays, the damage is what shows up,” DeGennaro told NJ.com. “You can’t even do anything to see exactly where they are, so they did the best they could. But being that he swallowed some, they just went everywhere…. around his heart, his lungs, his esophagus and in his digestive system.”

Faced with the possibility that traveling quills could pierce Chester’s heart or other organs, the family opted to operate. But their beloved dog didn’t make it, and died on the table.

Now DeGennaro and her family are not only in mourning but also faced with a nearly $20,000 vet bill.

“He really did need the surgery, and obviously we all thought he was going to live,” DeGennaro said. “I really thought he was going to make it. I’m devastated.”