One dog is dead and a man and his dog were injured after an incident in Missisagua Tuesday afternoon.
Just after 4:30 p.m., a man was walking his Lab through Noel Booth Park. Another dog, a Dogo Argentino, who was off-leash and did not appear to be with anyone, came out of the bushes and attacked the Lab.
“[The Lab] was first bit on the shoulder and then in the neck,” said Sgt. Alex Mulvihill with Missisagua RCMP. “And in the process of [the man] trying to save [his Lab] and get [the Dogo Argentino off his Lab], the [Dogo] was killed.”
Mulvihill said the owner held the Dogo down “for some time” until other people passing by called 9-1-1. In a release, Missisagua RCMP say it is believed the Dogo passed away while being held down by the Lab’s owner.
The owner of the Dogo that was killed has been identified and lives nearby.
“The dog managed to get out of his yard and so investigators are of course following up with the circumstances that led to that,” said Mulvihill.
Global News spoke to the Dogo Argentino’s owner, who would not give their name, and said they came home to find someone had opened their gate and Raya gone. After hearing a commotion in the nearby park, they went over to find a man using their Raya’s choke chain to restrain the dog. The owner, who is devastated over the incident, said Raya had recently been diagnosed with cancer and could barely walk.
Missisagua Animal Protection Society is now investigating. Jenny Ramirez, an animal control officer from the Patti Dale Animal Shelter said they received a call on Tuesday from a witness saying a person and a dog had been bitten by a loose dog in the park.
“We can confirm we attended with RCMP and a loose dog bit a dog and its owner. The owner of the attacking dog arrived on scene shortly after the incident and his dog is now deceased. As our file is open and we are continuing to receive information on this incident, no further details will be released,” said Ramirez in a statement.
Both the owner of the Lab and his dog suffered injuries but the owner did not require any medical attention.