Dog euthanized after Maple Ridge girl attacked

Maple Ridge News

By Robert Mangelsdorf - Maple Ridge News
Published: August 10, 2010 4:00 PM
Updated: August 11, 2010 8:03 AM
A 10-year-old girl needed more than 100 stitches to piece her face back together after being attacked by a neighbour’s dog Friday afternoon in Hammond.

Darryl Barber said his daughter, Savannah, will require plastic surgery to repair the damage to her face.

According to Ridge Meadows RCMP, the girl was playing in the family’s front yard on Princess Street in Maple Ridge with her eight-year-old sister when the attack occurred.

Savannah and her sister were petting their neighbour’s small Shih Tzu through the fence and asked if they could pet the neighbour’s other dog, a German shepherd/bull terrier cross, as well.

The woman obliged and brought the dog out on a leash. However, when Savannah approached the dog, it attacked her, leaving her with disfiguring face injuries. She was rushed to Ridge Meadows Hospital, where she received more than 100 stitches.

Police were called to the scene and are investigating the incident along with the SPCA, who are contracted by the District of Maple Ridge to enforce the city’s animal bylaws. A spokesperson with Ridge Meadows RCMP said they are looking into the possibility of charges against the dog’s owner.

Because it was the three-and-a-half year-old dog’s first violent attack, Maple Ridge’s bylaws don’t require the dog to be put down.

Barber said he was frustrated the SPCA didn’t do more.

“Nothing’s been done. The SPCA says the owner’s going to handle it. Nothing’s been done,” Barber said Monday.

However, SPCA spokesperson Lorie Chortyk confirmed Tuesday that the owner voluntarily agreed to have the dog euthanized after speaking with SPCA and police.

“They were able to convince her it was the right thing to do, given the severity of the attack,” Chortyk said.

She said the dog was likely trying to protect its owner and territory when the child approached it face-to-face. which dogs interpret as an act of aggression

“The dog acted on instinct and lunged at her,” she said. “She had no way of knowing she shouldn’t do that.

“It’s so tragic.”

Chortyk said the dog was male and un-neutered, which also made it more aggressive and prone to biting.

Contrary to some reports, Chortyk said the dog in question is not considered a pit bull, a term which typically refers to American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, and American Pit Bull Terriers

“Bull Terriers and Bulldogs are a totally different breed of dog,” she said. “This one was German Shepherd cross.”

Bans on pit bulls have been passed in Ontario and Denver, Colorado, however Chortyk said the SPCA doesn’t support bans on entire breeds of dogs, as they unfairly penalize the vast majority of dog owners, who are responsible.

Golden Retrievers are the most common breed for dog bites, while Chihuahuas are number two, she notes.

“Pit bulls are actually well down the list, but because of their strong jaws they are capable of much more harm,” Chortyk said.

With that increased capacity for harm, there needs to be a greater responsibility on the dogs’ owners to properly train their pets, she said

“Many dogs that are aggressive are trained to be that way,” said Chortyk.

Chortyk said B.C. SPCA only sees about a dozen serious dog attacks annually in the 13 municipalities they are contracted to do bylaw enforcement for.

Deaths from dog attacks are even more rare.

Chortyk said the last case she could recall was that of three-year-old Cody Anger Fontaine, who was mauled to death by three Rottweilers and a Border Collie in December of 2004 after the dogs escaped from basement of his parents Maple Ridge home on 203rd Street, while his mother, her boyfriend and his siblings slept.

A coroner’s inquest recommended an education program for Grade 3 students to minimize risks associated with dog interactions as well as a province-wide registry to record incidents of serious dog bites and attacks.