“I want these people to take responsibility for their dog,” Amanda Merrin said.
Merrin and her boyfriend had the two Chihuahuas, Danger Mouse and Lola, for three months and this was their first trip to the Cambridge park.
She said they parked and her boyfriend took the dogs inside and within a couple minutes, a large dog resembling a Husky or a Malamute attacked Danger Mouse.
“He picked up Danger Mouse in his mouth and crushed him,” Merrin said. “He shook him and threw him.”
Her boyfriend screamed aloud but couldn’t do much as everything happened so fast, Merrin said. One woman yelled out that Danger Mouse was still alive and they rushed to the vet’s, but the dog died in Merrin’s arms on the way, she said.
Merrin said during the attack, she was just coming into the park. She described the larger dog as being white, grey and black with white fur underneath the chin, chest and legs.
She said no one approached them to take responsibility for the dog.
“There were a lot of people there,” Merrin said. “For all we know, we were talking to them.”
After going to the vet, the couple returned to the park the same evening to apologize for Merrin’s boyfriend’s outburst during the incident. On Thursday, they reported the incident to Waterloo Regional Police.
Merrin said she suspects the dog’s owner was aware of its aggressive nature and she’s concerned it will happen to another small dog.
Bonnie Deekon, executive director of the Cambridge and District Humane Society, said she’s heard of attacks at the park, but hadn’t heard of any animal deaths.
All dogs are supposed to be under control at all times in the fenced-in park, she said.
“He can be off leash but if an officer walks in and says ‘Call your dog’, you should be able to get your dog to turn around in a dime,” Deekon said.
However, she also noted that with so many large dogs running around, smaller ones are at risk. Animals still have that instinct to forage for their food, she said.
Meanwhile, Merrin is asking any witnesses to the incident or anyone with information about the dog that attacked her Chihuahua to call the Waterloo Regional Police.
(Guelph Mercury - June 18, 2011)
