The girl was playing in Marquise Park at 3 p.m. when she was attacked by two dogs, and witnesses said the dogs bit and clawed the girl's face, head and neck before they could be pulled away.
Louise De Tonnancour was one of many people who saw the attack.
Line Bonenfant was gardening when she heard a commotion and spotted two dogs in the park behind her home.
“Irealized somebody was bitten by the dog and so I turned back and took a shovel and ran,” she said. “The owner dragged the dog by his two hind legs. Yeah he was totally out of control. He was kind of crazy.”
Witnesses say the little girl was face down in the grass during the attack. She is expected to survive but suffered serious injuries to her head, neck and arm and required surgery.
“It's a massive dog, muscular dog that weighs approximately 100 pounds,” explained Longueuil police spokesperson Mark David, who said neighbors told police where the dogs’ owner lived.
Longueuil police went to the man’s home, but he was not very co-operative.
“Immediately the police went to that residence and the owner refused to let the officers enter. So officers had to negotiate a couple of hours before he opened the door for us,” he said.
Police don’t yet know if the dogs were on or off their leash. A Brossard regulation demands dogs be kept on a leash.
The owner of the dogs was arrested for breach of conditions in another, unrelated case.
Longueuil police are investigating the dog attack to see if a charge of criminal negligence is warranted.
(Montreal CTV News - September 21, 2015)
