Canada: Elderly Calgary woman has to move neither the landlord nor Animal Control will do anything about the vicious German Shepherd that attacked her

CANADA -- A 71-year-old woman says she has no choice but to put her home up for sale because a dog that attacked her has been allowed to stay in the trailer park where she lives.

Donna Stewart was badly injured after being dragged to the ground by a German shepherd during the attack in a field next to Greenwood Village trailer park in northwest Calgary.

"It leaped at my face and I put my arm up," she said.

"It threw me down to the ground, I couldn't get my arm out of its mouth, just snarling on top of me, and at that point I just gave up and buried my head in the snow. My life as I knew it was just destroyed."

Stewart is still being treated for torn muscles in both shoulders and problems with a dislocated jaw.

And she is terrified to go outside, since the dog was allowed to stay in the trailer park despite rules to the contrary.

Mary-Ann Houston with the City of Calgary says the owner of the dog was fined, but because it was the first reported incident, the dog was allowed to return home.

"The owner was simply charged and told to ensure the pet was behaving under the responsible pet ownership bylaw in the future," she said.

But Stewart's lease says any pet cited by Bylaw Services with a violation following an attack or aggressive incident will be removed from Greenwood Village, with no exceptions.

Maple Leaf Property Management, the B.C. company that manages the trailer park, has so far declined to be interviewed.

She needs to sue Maple Leaf Property Management for FAILING to ensure her safety and for FAILING to enforce their own rules.

Stewart thinks several layers of winter clothing saved the attack from being much worse, but also meant it was classified as being a less severe attack by Bylaw Services, leading to lesser charges against the owner.

(CBC - Oct 5, 2016)