“We turned the boat around. We were looking for her and then she popped up and was swimming… As we approached her and pulled up next to her, she disappeared,” Mr Hoge told local outlet News 4 Jax.
Ms Hoge added: “It seemed like an eternity, but it was like 10 seconds that she was under, and, of course, I’m freaking out. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ll never see her again’.”
After Maddie resurfaced, Mr Hodge dived into the water to save his pet. When they pulled the dog out they noticed it was bleeding heavily and rushed the animal to a nearby emergency veterinary clinic to treat it.
The couple initially thought it had been hit by the boat’s propeller. However, the vet concluded that the dog’s injuries – six to seven deep puncture wounds – were more consistent with a shark attack.
“The vet told us she called her colleagues around the country to get some information on what this could be and they all said it was a shark,” Mr Hoge said.
The group of veterinary experts suspect the shark shook Maddie as it dragged the dog beneath the surface, while biting down on its rear, which broke its pelvis in three places.
If it had been a boat propeller, it would have likely sliced the 5.5kg dog in half, they said.
The family believes the shark let go of the dog because of its unfamiliar, furry taste. And they said, because she put up a good fight.
Mr Hoge has suggested it was likely a bull or lemon shark, both species grow up to 8-12ft in length and are often spotted in the local waters. However, because the shark was probably not fully-grown, Maddie pulled off a miraculous escape.
“It’s incredible that she was able to resurface and keep her head above water after the attack,” Mr Hoge told Fox News.
