Police seek owner of dogs after smaller breed attacked
By JEREMY APPEL on June 5, 2019.
jappel@medicinehatnews.com@MHNJeremyAppel The Medicine Hat Police Service is seeking public assistance in locating the owner of two dogs involved in an attack on a smaller canine at the Ranchlands off-leash trail Monday night. The dog who was attacked received two puncture wounds and was treated by a veterinarian, but its health status is unknown at this time, according to supervisor of municipal enforcement for the city Heather Trail. “It’s really tough with little dogs when there are puncture wounds, because there can be infection and further problems,” Trail told the News. “It will probably be a couple days before they know for sure.” One of the attack dogs is a Shepard breed, while the other’s breed is unknown. Both are white in colour. Trail said there was “no owner in sight” during the attack. “After they had attacked the dog, they basically took off,” she said. “The owner of the victim dog didn’t exactly see what direction they went in.” This incident underscores the importance of dog owners remaining with their pet at all times, Trail said. “That’s not to say these things don’t happen when there is an owner on scene,” she said. “That’s why it’s so important that if you have a dog, if you visit the off-leash areas, make sure you’re taking a dog you can trust, that you can control, that listens to you when you call back, and most definitely, don’t let them just take off and approach other people and dogs – unless there’s been a conversation between the owners saying this is OK.” Trail said it’s debatable whether this is an operational hazard unique to off-leash areas. “Sometimes dogs are even more aggressive when they’re on leash, however at least they’re controllable,” she said. “The off-leash scenario certainly does provide a lot more risk, in that these are animals – we never know for sure what is going to happen. “Sometimes the even greater risk is when you have some dogs off leash and some dog on-leash. It’s out of balance in the canine world.” Anyone with further information on this incident is asked to call 403-529-8436. 16-15
