SEVERE WOUNDS: No charges, pet will be euthanized after father lets it off leash
A Surrey toddler is recovering from surgery after the family pit bull turned on him, gouging into his face.

Three-year-old Justice Paradis will likely require plastic surgery, but he is expected to survive.

The owners of the pit bull have agreed to have the dog euthanized following the attack on Friday. The entire family is in shock, said the boy’s aunt, Deja Paradis.

According to the family, the dog belongs to the boy’s mother and is usually kept on a chain outside the family’s house on 133rd Street.

The pit bull was off the leash at the time and was in the living room with Justice, said the boy’s father, Dejal-Blue Paradis.

The child suffered puncture wounds to the face and a 15-centimetre gash near his eye.

The dog, whose name is Haze, hasn’t attacked anyone before, the family claim. Surrey RCMP Insp. Steve Wade said the Surrey SPCA is now dealing with the attack and there would be no criminal charges stemming from the incident.

The provincial SPCA says it will be checking to ensure the dog is taken to the vet or to its own facilities to be put down.
“I would say that the dog is dangerous,” said Wade. “It should not be attacking children, or anybody.”

The boy’s father inadvertently let the dog run inside the house at about 2 p.m. Friday.

That’s when the dog attacked, biting the father as well when he tried to rescue Justice.

The toddler was able to communicate with family members at hospital, which was taken as a good indication that no brain damage had occurred.

The RCMP and the SPCA arrived at the home, but the boy’s father said they didn’t seize the dog.

“When the dog’s sitting down, it’s my kid’s height,” Paradis told Global B.C. He said the dog’s teeth clamped down just below the child’s eye and along the jaw line, “and whipped him down [with his head in its jaws],” he said.

Paradis said he “should’ve known better” than to leave the pit bull with his child. “I can’t say it’s the dog’s fault . . . I should’ve never let my son out of my eyes.”

Justice is expected to be released from hospital tomorrow.