Girl, 4, killed by dog in Inuit village: Neighbour’s husky being blamed

CANADA -- Police won’t confirm reports that a neighbourhood dog killed a 4-year-old girl Saturday in an Inuit village.

The child was found mauled in a vacant lot between two homes in Puvirnituq Saturday afternoon but few details have emerged as to the circumstances surrounding her death.

One village resident told The Gazette the animal was a sleigh-carrying husky that belonged to the child’s neighbour. Other reports claim she was attacked by a stray dog — strays commonly mill about in northern communities though reports of serious attacks are rare.

The girl’s grieving mother, Mary Uqaituk, posted several pictures on
Facebook of her daughter Sheena after the child died Saturday
in what police have described as a dog attack.

“The death was caused by injuries that came from a dog attack,” said Sûreté du Québec spokesperson Marie-Josée Ouelltte. “But we don’t know much more right now.”

Ouellette said the attack does not appear to be criminal in nature.

The victim’s mother, Mary Uqaituk, posted about her daughter Sheena’s death on Facebook throughout the weekend, calling the attack the “worst nightmare ever.”

“Life would never be the same without you,” Uqaituk wrote over a picture of the child. “We love you. We miss you.”

Uqaituk also posted pictures of Sheena that depict the girl smiling and carrying an infant. The grieving mother, an employee of Air Inuit, has received an outpouring of support from friends and relatives on social media.

Puvirnituq has its own regional police force but the SQ flew in investigators Saturday from its branch in Kuujjuaq. Puvirnituq is a fishing village with a population of about 1,800 at the mouth of the Hudson Bay, only accessible by plane or steam ship.

Sheena’s body was taken to a medical laboratory in Labrador where an autopsy will be performed.
Municipal officials did not say if the dog that killed Sheena was put down.

Though fatal attacks are rare in Quebec’s north, there have been other well-documented cases of dog attacks in remote communities.

Nunatsiaq News reports that a 4-year-old boy was killed by sled dogs in Pangnirtung four years ago, when the animals escaped from their chains while their owner was out of town. Also in 2010, huskies bit a 6-year-old girl walking home from school in Kangirsuk. A passerby managed to scare the dogs away, according to Nunatsiaq News.

(Montreal Gazette - Jun 16, 2014)

Earlier:

• Four-year-old child dies after animal attack in Nunavik community