An Orillia family is heartbroken and worried about other incidents after their dog was attacked last week on George Street.
Jennifer Jenkins sent her son, Damian, out to walk their dogs, Oliver and Nina, in their Barrie Road neighbourhood.
When the 21-year-old turned down George Street, he and his dogs were approached by a large, loose, unattended black dog who "viciously" attacked the miniature Eskimo Spaniel, Nina.
“My son screamed for help, but no one came. Meanwhile the dog continued to attack my beautiful, gentle, innocent girl, gnashing, shaking, and dragging her little body through the dirt in a brutal and unrelenting frenzy,” Jenkins said.
“From what my son explained, the dog grabbed her by the hind region and tugged her until my son couldn’t hold onto the leash, and then the dog dragged her all over the property, the driveway, and the gravel.”
A nearby neighbour attempted to get the attacking dog to let go of Nina to no avail. Eventually, the dog’s owner arrived to put an end to the attack.
“My son is autistic and was just traumatized. When he picked up Nina, the owner asked him if he wanted a ride home…He was responding to this incident like it was nothing,” Jenkins said.
The dog’s owner sent someone from his house to drive Damian home with the injured Nina who was yelping and covered in blood.
“I couldn’t think of anything except getting our dog to the hospital,” Jenkins said.
When Nina arrived at VCA O'Sullivan Animal Hospital in Barrie, the results of the attack were worse than feared.
Nina’s injuries included more than 20 puncture wounds, compression wounds, bruises, missing skin and flesh from her left hind leg, which took the brunt of the assault.
Nina has since been transferred to a Newmarket animal hospital where she is requiring constant care, IV antibiotics, pain management, fluids, and sedation to keep her as comfortable as possible.
On Monday Nina's leg was amputated. The Jenkins family is now facing over $17,000 in vet bills.
“This whole time the owner hasn’t bothered to come to the house, there has been no contact at all,” Jenkins said.
“Different neighbours have come forward to me with their own stories of their dog being attacked by this guy’s dogs," she said.
Jenkins fears more attacks in her neighborhood and worries more dogs or small children could become prey to the large off-leash dogs.
“This is our neighbourhood, there have been police reports, and it’s still going on? And now my family is paying for it,” Jenkins said.
While Nina is feeling the worst from the attack, the Jenkins family remains shaken up as well.
“My son is having a really hard time talking about it. He’s struggling, he can’t stop thinking about the images of it in his mind,” Jenkins said.
“I’m getting three hours of sleep a night, I’m having nightmares, I wake up crying, I go to bed crying, I’m losing weight, I’m broke, I’m begging people for money, I’m destroyed," she said.
Jenkins believes Nina will survive the attack and she vows she will spare no expense to give her a meaningful quality of life going forward.
“Our dogs were brought into our family after we left an abusive relationship and those dogs were our healing, they are family, they are a huge part of our happiness, our balance, our joy, our peace,” she said.
“This incident cannot be kept quiet. This is a community issue, and I will do something. I feel very broken right now, but I am not, I will make sure this stops; it has to.”
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the Jenkins family with their vet bills. To donate, click here.
The City of Orillia’s legislative services manager, Shawn Crawford, says the city has a dog control bylaw. He notes the maximum fine for having a dog off leash is $5,000.
The bylaw states "no owner of a dog shall allow a dog to run at large within the limits of the municipality of the City of Orillia, and a dog not on a leash is deemed to be at-large when found elsewhere than on the property of the owner."
The Orillia Animal Centre (OSPCA) is primarily responsible for enforcing bylaw violations related to dogs in the city, notes OSPCA manager Carol Beard in an emailed statement. She said no charges have been laid at this time.
"Our officer has attended and spoke to the owner of the dogs. The incident, he claims, is not what had happened and we still have never heard from a victim. The fellow that has complained is a third party, apparently," Beard said.
"Our officer is currently working with the dogs' owners to be sure they are following the City of Orillia bylaws."
Beard encourages dog owners to carry an air horn with them during walks to deter dogs that may get loose and attack.
"It is a deterrent with the noise as well as (it) alerts other folks that something is going on," she explained.
OPP Const. Ted Dongelmans has confirmed that a police report has been filed on the incident and says there is an ongoing investigation. He was unable to provide any more information in time for publication of this article.
