By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — Without another word, Danielle Sweet dropped her phone, ran out the door and hopped in the car.
There was no stopping her.
She’d been told her son, 12-year-old Dominic, had been bit by a dog. For the moment, she didn’t need to know anything else.
“He’s my baby,” she said. “I didn’t know what to expect. I just knew he got bit.”
Dominic had been playing in the yard outside a friend’s house on Grant Street when someone opened the door, allowing the dog inside — a pit bull-mastiff cross, about two years old — to slip out.
Within seconds, the dog had chased Dominic out of the yard. A man quickly managed to pin the dog, but not before the damage was done.
By the time his mother arrived, a neighbour had driven Dominic to the Davidson Health Centre. He had been bitten twice — once on his upper leg, and a second, deeper bite on his right arm, just below his elbow.
Danielle said her son was treated by Dr. Lang, receiving multiple stitches, inside and out.
More than a month after the Aug. 15 incident, Dominic’s arm is healing, slowly but surely.
“It only hurt for the first couple of days,” he said last week, pulling back his sleeve to reveal the fading but still visible scar.
Danielle said she’s still frustrated and angry about what happened, as well as what she called a slow response by local officials.
“I don’t want people to get hurt,” she said. “It’s not right. If they can’t control their animals, then they shouldn’t have them.”
A number of recent dog attacks have prompted Davidson town council to revisit the town’s animal control bylaw.
Town councillors agreed that the bylaw should be revised to allow faster action on the town’s part when an animal is deemed a threat.
Speaking during Tuesday’s council meeting, Coun. Gord Cross said he’d like to see it strengthened, to “put some teeth in it.”
His colleagues agreed, including Coun. Jessica Foster, who said, “I have zero tolerance for that in a community that’s this size.”
Assistant administrator Donna Bessey told council that town employees have to adhere to the animal control bylaw when a complaint is received about a potentially dangerous animal.
This often requires a hearing, attended by a judge, to determine whether or not the animal in question is dangerous.
The process must be followed unless the animal attacks a person or another domestic animal, in which case the owner is guilty of an offense.
“We are doing what we can,” Bessey told council, adding that she wanted to see changes made “so we can move swifter on it.”
Specifically, Bessey said she would look into simplifying the bylaw, which may include removing the requirement for a hearing.
However, she told the Leader on Thursday that she has reviewed similar bylaws in other municipalities and found that they also typically require a hearing.
Regular reports filed to council by bylaw enforcement officer Ron Klassen provide some details on recent dog bite incidents, dating back to February of this year.
The dog that attacked Dominic Sweet in August had reportedly been involved in an earlier incident on Feb. 22, in which a 10-year-old boy was allegedly bitten inside a Grant Street residence.
The boy was hospitalized and later taken to Saskatoon where he received stitches, according to the report.
Both Klassen and local RCMP officers investigated the incident. Klassen said he informed police in March that the town would not move forward with removing the dog, as the incident had involved a family member in a private home.
Reports indicated there were further complaints about a dog at large at the same residence in May and June.
Dominic’s mother reported the incident to the town, to police and to animal welfare officials on the morning of Aug. 16.
Five days later, when Klassen was in Davidson, he spoke to both police and an animal control officer. Police informed him that the dog had been moved to a farm outside of town.
Later, Klassen and the animal control officer went to the house to determine the dog’s whereabouts. They were told by an occupant that the dog had been transported to an unspecified location in Alberta.
Council heard during Tuesday’s meeting about a third dog attack, this time taking place in front of a house on Railway Street.
A woman walking past the house on Monday afternoon was bitten on the back of her leg. She also required stitches.
Const. Kam Hay of the Craik RCMP told the Leader that the town is responsible for enforcing its animal control bylaw, as with other municipal bylaws.
Generally, he said, police are not authorized to act in the role of animal control, nor are they equipped or outfitted to perform that duty.
However, Hay added, police will provide assistance when necessary, and will also respond when there is an active threat to public safety — for instance, if a dangerous or violent dog is running loose.
According to Davidson Bylaw No. 751, the Animal Control Bylaw, if an animal attacks a person or another domestic animal, the owner is guilty of an offense.
In that case, the bylaw provides for various punishments, such as a fine levied on an individual owner of up to $10,000, imprisonment for up to six months, and the destruction or disposition of the animal. (The bylaw also allows for an appeal process.)
Danielle Sweet said she has heard conflicting reports about what happened to the dog, which she believes was not being treated properly.
“People are still asking me and I have no answers for them, none,” she said. “I would like to see the animal go into rehabilitation . . . before anything else worse happened.”
If attempts at rehabilitation fail, she added, “then and only then should it be euthanized.”
She is also critical of the response from authorities, calling it slow and ineffective.
“It could have been done in a more timely manner,” she said. “I don’t know if people are afraid to take the steps that need to be taken. . . . They need to step up to the plate and do their job.”
Sweet suggested that the town could have a bylaw officer working in town, or someone doing regular animal control.
She said the incident has changed her perception of whether or not Davidson is a safe community.
“It’s not the community it used to be,” she said. “I still love it. It’s still the best move I ever made. I’m glad I’m here, but it’s not what it was.”