WARNING: This story contains details that may be disturbing to some readers. Readers’ discretion is advised.
An Amherstburg, Ont., mother says her 11-year-old daughter is afraid to go outside after two Rottweilers escaped from a neighbour’s backyard and attacked the girl, her mother, and their family dog.
Nina Di Maria said the incident happened Tuesday morning around 9:55 a.m., while her daughter was taking the family dog for a walk in their neighbourhood.
She said she was at home when she heard screaming outside, followed by a phone call from her daughter.
“All I heard was, ‘Dogs are attacking me,’” Di Maria said.
“It happened on the other side of my street.”
Timestamps on surveillance video provided to CTV News show one Rottweiler first ran toward the girl and her dog before running back to its yard.
About four minutes later, after neighbours had gathered around the girl and her dog to help, two Rottweilers rushed toward the group.
About 80 seconds later, the Rottweilers’ owner arrived and began trying to get them back home.
‘Screaming at the top of her lungs’
Di Maria said she ran through a neighbour’s yard to reach her daughter faster.
“I came out and I just saw her screaming at the top of her lungs, and these dogs were attacking my dog,” she said.
Di Maria said she tried everything she could to get the dogs away from her daughter and their pet.
“I’m screaming and I’m grabbing my dog because they’re wailing on him, and I’m trying to kick them and hit them just to get them off,” she said.
“Nothing fazed these dogs, and I used all my power. When you see your daughter hurt, you use any power you can — and it just wasn’t working.”
Di Maria said she, her daughter, and their dog were all bitten.
“They bit both of my legs. They bit my arm. My daughter’s bitten,” she said.
She said neighbours rushed in to help, including one who threw bricks at the two Rottweilers to get them to run away.
“When I sat down and watched the video, I saw my neighbours, who are petrified of dogs, actually went to save my daughter,” Di Maria said.
“I thanked my neighbours because without their help, I don’t know what would have happened.”
Di Maria said she posted surveillance video of the incident to social media because she wanted other families in the area to know what happened.
“My thing is for the kids — the awareness for the kids and also the parents,” she said.
“Everybody walks their dogs in this neighbourhood. It’s a very calm neighbourhood. But after seeing these dogs coming and attacking people, they need to be aware of what’s out there.”
‘Some actions will be taken’: mayor
Amherstburg Mayor Michael Prue said the town is investigating.
“It does take a little while for all of the documents to be looked at and bylaws to be compared,” he said.
“But everyone has been interviewed so far, and I’m quite confident that within the next day or two, some actions will be taken.”
According to Prue, the dogs had been kept in an enclosed space in the owner’s backyard, but the enclosure was “not strong enough to hold them.”
Prue said there are several possible penalties in situations involving dogs running loose or biting a person or another animal.
“A dog running at large can be fined up to $300. A dog that bites an individual or bites another animal — there’s other larger fines for that,” Prue said.
“The bylaw enforcement officer can also request that the dogs be muzzled at all times when they’re outside.”
Lynette Bain, executive director of the Windsor/Essex County Humane Society, said anyone bitten by a dog should seek medical care first.
“You’ll also need to report it to the health unit so we can get the information from the owner of the animal about their rabies vaccination status,” she said.
“If the owner is not present or does not come forward, you’re going to want to talk to animal control,” Bain said.
Bain added while the humane society deals with stray animals, dog bites are not something it sees every day.
“It does happen occasionally,” she said.
“We do hear about dog fights or people being bit.”
‘Free-roaming dogs are not acceptable’
Still, Bain said dog owners are responsible for keeping their animals properly secured.
“You’re responsible to ensure that you have an appropriate enclosure, that they’re either tethered or contained in some kind of way on your property,” said Bain.
“Free-roaming dogs are not acceptable in our community.”
For Di Maria, the incident has changed what used to be a normal morning routine.
“I usually take my dog around. Now, he’s waiting for me, but I’m not taking him,” she said.
“I feel bad. I love him. But I’m too scared.”
Di Maria said her daughter is also struggling after the attack.
“My daughter is petrified,” said Di Maria.
“She hasn’t been to school since.”
Late Thursday afternoon, CTV News received images showing the neighbour whose Rottweilers escaped has installed a more secure fence to prevent the dogs from escaping the backyard again.