WARNING: Story contains graphic images

It was supposed to be an ordinary night for Mark Eskow.

The Winnipeg resident left his home for supper on Friday, leaving his dog Cooter to run around in his north-end backyard.

But when Eskow returned from a night out, he saw blood all over his yard.

Eskow quickly found his seven-year-old bullmastiff, whose nose had been sliced open and was dripping with blood.

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He sped to the vet, assuming the dog had somehow cut itself, but later found out from the staff that Cooter had been stabbed.

While Cooter was being tended to by veterinarians, Eskow pulled up footage from his home’s multiple security cameras on his cellphone.

Shortly after 9 p.m., Eskow says his home security camera showed a group of young people in his backyard.

The footage showed one person standing in front of his garage under one of the security cameras.

The person put on a mask and gloves and pulled a knife from their pocket. The individual then approached the gate, and jammed the knife through the fence, making contact with the dog’s nose, before fleeing on a bicycle.

“It’s just a terrible thing to happen to a pet,” Eskow said.

Cooter received stitches and is expected to make a full recovery

Eskow was still shaken up by the attack but also grateful he got home when he did and that Cooter wasn’t hurt more badly.

“My dog was fortunate enough to get to the hospital and get stitched up,” he said.

“Who knows about the next dog?”

Eskow filed a police report and says the major crimes unit is investigating.