Calgary Sun April 3, 2004

Animal control officers planned yesterday to lay charges against owners of a dog that escaped from its yard and bit three children.

The children were in playground when a full grown American Eskimo dog escaped from its yard, chased them in thepark and bit them.

While injuries didn't appear to be serious, bylaw co-ordinator of operations Alvin Murray said EMS had to clean at least one of the child's wounds, a bite to the thigh.

An eight year old child whose family owned the dog wasn't home and neither were his parents when the dog escaped, but he found it in the park, chasing and biting the kids.

This dog was apparently in a fenced back yard - if you leave your dog unattended you don't know what's going to happen - if they're not tethered they have the potential to escape over the fence or under the fence, Murray said.

Three charges were pending against the owners for having biting dogs - worth $350 each for a first offence.

Charges of having a dog running at large and having a dog in a prohibited area, both worth $100, were also pending.