Animal & Bylaw Services is investigating two separate, aggressive dog incidents that happened on the weekend and say a poodle died as a result of injuries sustained in one of the attacks.

On Friday, Amber Lessard was walking her poodle on Templehill Drive N.E. at about 7:15 p.m. when she was approached by another woman who was also out with her two dogs.

“The dogs were quite large and I was telling my dog to heal and she’s telling her dogs to heal and I had my dog sit and poodles are very friendly so the poodle wanted to get out there and meet these dogs,” said Lessard. “I saw her dogs were stopped and they had stopped barking and they were now just growling a bit and she said they just want to sniff, that’s what dogs do.”

“Upon allowing the dogs to greet each other, one of the large dogs grabbed the poodle, biting and shaking it. A neighbour intervened and the poodle was recovered but died a short time later at a local vet,” said Alvin Murray, North Operations Manager for ABS.

“So we got in there and initially it sounded good and she was responding to oxygen and her pupils were constricting but after about half an hour she started to go downhill,” said Lessard. “She passed away on her own there, fairly quickly at that point.”

Investigators say that the dogs were on leashes at the time of the attack.

ABS officers are now asking the public for assistance to locate the owner of the two large dogs.

She is described as:

  • Caucasian
  • Between 30 and 40
  • Petite build
  • Blonde hair
  • Possibly named Sarah.

“We are asking anyone who may know who the owner is or who may have information about this case to call 311,” said Murray.

The other incident happened on July 11 at about 10:00 p.m. in the northwest community of Ranchlands.

Bylaw officers were called out for reports that a woman had sustained facial wounds as the result of a dog bite.

“Due to the severity of attack, the dog owner requested the animal be removed from his home immediately and signed ownership over to ABS,” said Murray.

Bylaw says the owner adopted the dog from an out-of-town agency just nine days before the incident.

The dog is being held by ABS and will undergo an assessment after a mandatory 10-day quarantine.

Officials say the incident is still under investigation and no charges have been laid.

A mandatory court appearance is required in all serious cases and fines could be as high as $10,000.