For William Voiles, the hits just keep on coming.
On Saturday, the celebrated opossum owner and French Quarter artist was heading to a laundromat when his lap dog, Garlic, who was riding in the basket of his adult tricycle, was attacked by a larger dog.
Garlic, a Maltese-toy poodle mix, was grabbed from the basket, “tossed in the air,” and bitten in the stomach and neck by the other dog, which was with a young woman in the street, Voiles said.
“It happened so fast,” he said, “but it seemed like it took forever.”
Voiles said it took three or four people to break up the one-sided dog fight.
Garlic, a Maltese-toy poodle mix, was bitten by a larger dog on Saturday March 2. Garlic's owner, William Voiles is also the owner of Saffron, a pet opossum seized by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries agents on Feb. 10.
Saturday’s canine altercation was the second pet-related incident for Voiles within a month. On Feb. 10, agents of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries who were patrolling French Quarter Mardi Gras celebrations seized Voiles' pet opossum, Saffron.
Voiles is well-known for chauffeuring his collection of pets — two small dogs, a rabbit and the opossum — on his trike.
Voiles claimed to have rescued Saffron as an infant, after its mother had been killed in traffic. It is nonetheless illegal to possess a wild animal without a proper permit.
The LDWF has assured Voiles that Saffron is safe, but has not revealed the opossum's location or told Voiles whether he has any hope of having the animal returned.
William Voiles small menagerie of animals rode remarkably calmly through the French Quarter in the front and rear baskets of his adult tricycle in this 2023 photo. Now Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries officers have confiscated Voiles pet opossum named Saffron
After Garlic was bitten by the bigger dog on Saturday, the wounded animal was unable to lie down in its basket as usual, which led Voiles to believe that its ribs may have been broken.
He wanted to rush Garlic to an emergency veterinary clinic, but was certain he couldn’t afford the fee, so he issued a social media plea for money to cover expenses.
Jeff Dorson, the executive director of the Louisiana Humane Society, was alerted to the situation and offered to cover expenses.
Saturday evening, Voiles took Garlic to the Metairie Small Animal Hospital. There, Voiles said, a vet determined that the little dog’s rib cage may have been strained but its ribs were not broken. No vital organs were damaged, but its skin and the “inner membrane” had been punctured by the other dog’s teeth.
William Voiles small menagerie of animals rode remarkably calmly through the French Quarter in the front and rear baskets of his adult tricycle in this 2023 photo. Now Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries officers have confiscated Voiles pet opossum named Saffron
Dorson confirmed that he’d paid Garlic’s vet bill, which amounted to a bit more than $500. Previously, Dorson had taken up Voiles’ cause, notifying Wildlife and Fisheries officials that his agency would help oversee Saffron’s care should the opossum be returned.
Voiles said the only bright spot in his seized opossum situation is “if that stuff wouldn’t have been going on with Saffron, I wouldn’t have been in touch with Jeff Dorson.”
Voiles said he adopted Garlic in 2019 from a neighbor who was moving away and couldn’t take the dog.
In a follow-up video posted on his Facebook page Saturday night, Voiles assured well-wishers that Garlic seemed to be on the road to recovery. He predicted he would not take his pet out in public for one or two weeks, though.
“He’s going to be on bed rest at home,” Voles said.
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