'It was just really fast': Dog bite leaves Claresholm, Alta. girl with 16 stitches in her face
'It was just really fast': Dog bite leaves Claresholm, Alta. girl with 16 stitches in her face
'It was just really fast': Dog bite leaves Claresholm, Alta. girl with 16 stitches in her face
An 11-year-old girl from Claresholm, Alta. is recovering after being attacked by a dog last Thursday.
The animal has already been put down but the victim and her mother say there’s an important lesson for all dog owners.
Isabella Chiasson was waiting for her piano lesson to start last Thursday and was greeted by her instructor’s daughter’s dog, Bentley, but this interaction was far from anything she had ever experienced.
“I sat down on the bench and Bentley greeted me so I pet him, then he jumped up sort of halfway on the bench and then he bite my face,” explained Chiasson.
“It was just really fast. I remember standing up and screaming and then everyone rushed to me and we rushed to the hospital.”
Isabella needed 16 stiches in her face and also suffered a bite wound on her wrist. The attack has left her shaken up, and with some advice for all dog owners.
“If your dog shows aggression toward anything, put it in behavioral classes or put it down if it bites someone,” said Chiasson.
Despite the horrific experience, Isabella says she's actually grateful it happened to her and not someone else.
“If it was a kindergartener or someone who’s not dog-savvy, then they wouldn’t have known what to do and they probably would have just froze,” Chiasson described.
“I certainly don’t blame anyone either, it’s just a bad thing that it happened because it could have been avoided.”
Isabella's mother, Kristin Butler, says it wasn’t the first time Bentley had been aggressive with children.
“I did have three other parents reach out to me with similar incidents,” she said.
“One kid had to kick the dog in the face because the dog was lunging, the other kid got growled and lunged at and then the third one is actually her best friend, and he got bit on the arm and there’s a mark on his arm still.
Bentley’s owner would not appear on camera but told CTV they had the dog euthanized on Friday. One dog owner in Claresholm says attacks like this highlight the importance of responsible dog ownership.
“Sometimes things need to be done to protect the public, especially if a little girl is hurt, that’s never a good thing to hear about,” said Claresholm resident Brittany Steed.
“I just wish that dog would have been in better hands maybe.”
Both Isabella and her mother say the response from their community has been outstanding. They've received flowers, gifts and food, and they want to extend a big ‘thank-you’ to everyone who has supported them.
“We are really grateful for everyone in the town that’s supported us,” said Butler.
“It was a tough decision to even talk about all this, but we wanted to advocate for dog owners because we don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”
The Town of Claresholm has a bylaw in place for aggressive dogs. It states, “The owner of an alleged aggressive or dangerous dog, shall surrender the dog to the animal control officer immediately and the dog shall be held pending the outcome of the investigation and/or a provincial court hearing.”
In this case, Bentley’s owner had him euthanized before an investigation was conducted.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned Thursday, acknowledging that it was 'clearly the will' of his party that he should go. He stepped down immediately as leader of his Conservative Party but plans to remain as prime minister while the leadership contest is held.
Boris Johnson was due to resign as Britain's prime minister on Thursday, bringing an end to a turbulent two and half years in office and triggering a search for a new leader.
Five men are being hailed as heroes by the Ontario Provincial Police after saving a man from a burning vehicle on a Toronto-area highway earlier this week.
Several vaccine manufacturers are racing to develop formulas that take into account the more infectious Omicron variant now driving cases, while policymakers are laying the groundwork for another large-scale vaccine blitz.
A well-known Ukrainian paramedic who was held prisoner by Russian and separatist forces for three months after being captured in the southeastern city of Mariupol has accused her guards of psychological and physical torture during her time in captivity.
Video has emerged showing a worker dangling in the air above a Toronto construction site after accidently getting entangled in a tagline attached to a crane.
The federal government has no intention of dropping the controversial ArriveCan app because it gives the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) key health information about travellers who test positive for COVID-19 through testing at airports and land borders, senior government sources tell CTV News.
A staggering 71 million more people around the world are experiencing poverty as a result of soaring food and energy prices that climbed in the weeks following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations Development Program said in a report Thursday.
Patrick Brown is alleging political corruption played a role in his disqualification from the Conservative Party of Canada's leadership race, a move that came following allegations that his campaign violated election financing rules.
It's setting up to be a very active day across central and north-central Alberta with a high risk of severe storms late this afternoon and this evening.
The rides are going up, concession stands are waiting, stuffed animals are displayed at games tables and the Calgary Stampede is raring to go Friday in its first return to full capacity since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned Thursday, acknowledging that it was 'clearly the will' of his party that he should go. He stepped down immediately as leader of his Conservative Party but plans to remain as prime minister while the leadership contest is held.
Someone in British Columbia could be sitting on a lottery ticket worth a whopping $15 million – but there's only a few weeks left to claim the jackpot.
For the second consecutive day, emergency resolutions related to a conflict between the Assembly of First Nations National Chief and the organization's executive council threw the agenda into chaos.
The ex-boyfriend of Cassidy Bernard has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for manslaughter and a consecutive three years for child abandonment in connection with the young mother's death.
The driver of a logging truck was airlifted to hospital in Victoria after he was pinned inside the vehicle following a rollover crash on Wednesday morning.
The number of Vancouver Island marmots in the wild increased this week, with 10 of the critically endangered rodents released onto a Mount Washington ski run.
Five men are being hailed as heroes by the Ontario Provincial Police after saving a man from a burning vehicle on a Toronto-area highway earlier this week.
Residents living in Toronto’s west end say they have been left utterly exhausted after an alleged nightclub opened up at the base of their condominium.
As Quebec enters the seventh wave of COVID-19, the province's health minister says the situation is 'under control for the moment' but is urging residents to be vigilant.
The leader of Quebec's Liberal Party paused her vacation briefly on Wednesday to react to the news that two young emergency room doctors have quit their jobs in their hometown of Montreal to work in Toronto.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned Thursday, acknowledging that it was 'clearly the will' of his party that he should go. He stepped down immediately as leader of his Conservative Party but plans to remain as prime minister while the leadership contest is held.
Whether you’re looking for a change of pace, a breath of fresh air, or a glimpse into nature, northern Ontario has an outdoor oasis waiting to be discovered.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned Thursday, acknowledging that it was 'clearly the will' of his party that he should go. He stepped down immediately as leader of his Conservative Party but plans to remain as prime minister while the leadership contest is held.
Wide Receiver Tevin Jones got his first regular season Canadian Football League (CFL) start in week four and will look to continue the momentum against Ottawa.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned Thursday, acknowledging that it was 'clearly the will' of his party that he should go. He stepped down immediately as leader of his Conservative Party but plans to remain as prime minister while the leadership contest is held.
