Calgary toddler mauled in dog attack; owner flees

CANADA -- A two-year-old Calgary boy is recovering from facial injuries he sustained when a small dog bit him in the face outside an elementary school.

The incident happened Friday, outside an elementary school in Calgary where Jaxon was waiting with his parents.

Jaxon’s parents say a woman was walking her leashed Shih Tzu when it suddenly lunged at the boy, biting him in the face and leaving him with cuts on his cheek, inside his mouth, and around his eyes.

 

“The lady walked by with her dog, and the dog attacked Jaxon,” Erin Schaffer told CTV Calgary of the dog attack on her son. “All we heard was him scream.”

Schaffer said Jaxon was unable to open his eye after the attack, prompting concerns he might have been partially blinded.

“The dog didn’t puncture the top of his eyelid, so we’re very lucky he has his eyesight,” Schaffer said, explaining that she rushed her son to hospital while her husband stayed behind to get the dog owner’s contact information.

The address the dog owner provided turned out to be false, Schaffer added.

“Being a responsible dog owner, she should have stayed to make sure that our son was OK and gave us proper information.”

This is a file photo of a Shih Tzu

Animal services say they have tracked down the dog in question and have placed it in 10-day quarantine, which is mandatory after any biting incident. Veterinarians will check the dog for diseases while they have it in isolation.

The Calgary Humane Society says most dog bite cases involve larger dogs, but size doesn’t always dictate aggression.

Schaffer said she’s not sure what she wants to happen to the dog, and she’s just glad her boy didn’t suffer more lasting injuries from the incident.

(CTV News - October 15, 2014)