Tammy Davey said she wants to see the two German shepherds involved in the incident put down. If that doesn’t happen, she wants the dogs — Jack and Amara — out of the Ventura Dr. co-op where she and the dogs’ owner reside, just east of Valley Park in the Heritage Green area of Stoney Creek.
“I want something done,” the 40-year-old woman said. “This is a family-orientated place and there is no place for dogs like that.”
Davey said her son Zackery Eggleton, a Grade 5 student, was attacked the afternoon of Jan. 29, near his Kennard St. school. He recognized the dogs, which were on leashes held by a friend of the owner’s 14-year-old son, and went over to say hello.
“The dogs became startled,” Davey said. “One turned, and once the one turned, the other (dog) turned. One went at his face and he put his arm up and the other one got his arm.”
Davey said her son managed to break free from the dogs and ran home — but not without receiving a large gash on his arm and another on his lip. He went to the hospital by ambulance and received 21 stitches, including 19 on his forearm.
But dog owner Sherri Hilton insists just one of the dogs is behind the attack. The challenge — for her and the animal services investigators — is that it’s unclear which one.
Hilton said she’s heard varying accounts of what happened from her son, who was inside the school during the attack, and his friend. An initial account pegged Amara — the smaller, two-year-old female — as the attacker, but later the story changed, with Jack — the 3-year-old shepherd — responsible for the bite.
Hilton, who has owned both dogs since they were puppies, said neither has bitten anyone before.
“I don’t have vicious dogs,” she said, adding this is “completely out of their character.”
She also accused the 10-year-old victim of taunting the dogs in the past — an allegation Davey vehemently denies.
Cal Burnett, a supervisor with Hamilton’s animal services department, said his office is still trying to pin down the facts.
“You’ve got two dogs involved here, and which dog did what — that’s part of the investigation,” he said.
Burnett said an officer will look into the dogs’ history and their home environment. Investigators are also hoping to speak with any other witnesses — adults, in particular — who might be able to clarify what happened.
Both dogs have been quarantined in the Hilton home for 10 days to ensure they’re not infected with rabies. That means the pets must be isolated from visitors and can’t leave the house, except to relieve themselves in the family’s fenced-in back yard.
On Sunday, when the confinement period is over, a public health officer will revisit the dogs to see if there are any signs of infection.
(Mississauga.com - Feb 6, 2013)
