This family was visiting here from Ontario and an awful thing happened. Their family dog was injured by another dog. They have created a Go Fund Me Page to help them with veterinary fees that could buckle any family. We know all of us as pet owners can appreciate the level of stress this kind of event would cause in our lives... so we'd like to reach out to Buddy's family and help spread the word about his GoFundMe page. Donating to the page that his family has created will ensure that the funds go directly to Buddy's care.
It is ROAM's goal that we not engage in any breed bashing or making assumptions about what may or may not have happened. This is a family who have reached out and asked for help for their dog because they need it. This happened here in Sooke but the family lives in Ontario. If you can help them and be ambassadors for our home town follow the link to Buddy's page.
I went to Sooke, British Columbia, for vacation from Sioux Lookout, Ontario. I arrived Oct 10th and went with my friend, for a walk with our little dogs at Billings Spit the next morning. We got to the beach and let our dogs off leash.
Neither of us have vicious or aggressive dogs. They are very social and socialize with all the other dogs we come across.
About two minutes into our walk there was a lady with a pit bull on a leash and one off leash. Buddy went up to the leashed one and they were sniffing each other, and the lady said, “Don’t worry she’s fine. But that one,” she pointed at the other pit bull that was not leashed or muzzled, “is reactive.”
Just then that unleashed dog lunged at my dog. The lady was trying to pull my dog out of her dog’s grip, and was trying to grab her dog as well.
I ran over and grabbed her dog by the collar and it let go of my dog. I hung onto to her dog until she had him, and then took my dog to the vet at Saseenos. From there, we went to the animal hospital in Victoria where they put his intestines back in and sewed up the holes from the dog’s bite which went right through the stomach cavity. I waited and visited my dog each day hoping he would survive the ordeal.
I was shown where the owners of the pit bulls live, and went there on the evening of Oct 11th to talk with them about the incident. They weren’t home. I went the next morning and still no one was home. Then I went later in the evening and they were home.
The lady took a few minutes to get her dogs under control because of the knock at the door. Then she invited me in and I told her I’m not comfortable going in with the dogs. She said they are fine but he is reactive.
So she came out, and we started talking.
She said she felt we were 50/50 responsible since my dog wasn’t on a leash either. I disagreed because my dog is not aggressive and she was aware her dog was, as she so stated just before her dog attacked mine. Then her boyfriend (husband?) came out and was quite aggressive towards me and verbally abusive. I thought he was going to physically assault me. He said, “Take me to court,” and he said he wasn’t paying anything.
Untrue. There is a difference between a dog that is not on a leash and not bothering anyone and a vicious, aggressive dog that attacks and disembowels another dog in an attempt to kill it.
My partner was with me at the time, and we left.
The next morning I called the CRD (Animal Control) to report the incident and was given a file number, and was later told that they spoke to the dog owners. That dog has been designated as a dangerous dog by the CRD and must be muzzled out in public.
I did try filing a complaint with the RCMP, but they brushed me off because to them unless a person was injured there is nothing they can do. ['bad cop' label]
I have no desire to have the pit bull destroyed, just that the owners take responsibility.
Wrong answer. This dog needs to be put down. What happens when this dog attacks and kills a child and the police come to you to you and they tell you this could have been prevented if only you had had a backbone and insisted on the dog being euthanized X months/years ago? That child's death will be on you.
Get an attorney. Now.
Well Buddy made it through his first surgery, but it was touch and go, and I got to get him back six days later and nursed him at home with a feeding tube and his medicines. I was to go back to do the surgery to fix his leg on Monday, but the vet says he needs more time to recover from the first surgery before fixing his leg. His bones need to be fused at the hock.
I am unable to file a complaint at the Sooke town hall or make a small claims file to get some of the vet bill covered. I don’t have the owner of the pit bull’s name to do either. CRD tells me that they can’t provide me with the name due to freedoms of information act. So, I’m trying other ways to get the owners name so I can try to get the court to force them to pay for at least some of the medical expenses.
So far the bill is $8200, and I’ve been given an estimate of $4-5000 for the leg surgery. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
If I am successful in getting the pit bull owners to take responsibility, I will return donations to those who donated.
