A dog was euthanized by Delta animal control officers Thursday after three separate attacks in North Delta.
Delta bylaws manager Hugh Davies told the Optimist Friday afternoon that animal control officers were called, along with B.C. Emergency Health Services and Delta Police to a residence in the 11500-block of 93rd Avenue around 1:30 p.m.
“The call came through the police to come assist with an aggressive dog that had bitten somebody,” said Davies. “When we got there, the dog was up on a deck. Police were trying to contain it there and we tried to get a hold of the owner, who was actually in Ladner. It took us a while to get a hold of the owner because the dog was not licensed in B.C. The owners had only lived in the rental unit for a few months.”
Davies said there was a report of a person being bitten and injured quite badly in their hands, but as officers gathered more information, they found out there were as many as three victims.
“The one we attended too was the last of the victims and he was a neighbour who was trying to contain the dog and put it back into the yard,” said Davies. “It appears the dog was able to unlatch the backdoor of the house. There was no intent of the owner to have the dog outside. Once the dog was out, the first victim, we understand coming from a witness, there was a girl who was pursued by this dog in the front of the house. We have not located that person yet.
“Then we had a report that a second person who was coming to the house to pick something up, was bitten on the arms and thigh. That person left the scene and went to get medical attention at a walk-in clinic in North Delta. Then we have this third person [the neighbour] who was injured quite badly and required surgery in hospital.”
Davies said the dog was contained and animal control officers made contact with the owner, the owner was advised of the incidents and the severity of the attacks.
“The owner then decided to surrender the dog to us for euthanasia,” he said. “Once the dog was surrendered to us, it was aggressive towards us as well. We are not looking at any charges. There is no history with this dog and it’s about intent, right. The owners were pretty upset that their dog had attacked these people.”
Delta Police confirmed with the Optimist that the dog was a Belgium Malinois.
Davies said Delta bylaws have seen a huge increase in aggressive dog complaints this year.
“I don’t know why we are seeing more attacks,” he said. “We have had 33 reports so far this year of aggressive dogs and out of those, five of those dogs were surrendered by their owners to be put down, so it is a concern.”
