A Nanaimo woman is distraught after her puppy was attacked and killed by an unleashed dog.
Lynette Hleck said she is now asking for the other dog owner to come forward, as well calling on all dog owners to use extreme caution with their pets, especially if they’ve shown aggression in the past.
Hleck was picking blackberries along a Nanaimo trail on Sunday with her four-month-old puppy Fern by her side when suddenly a much larger unleashed dog began approaching.
“He yelled again ‘pick up your dog’ and I saw that his dog was running and barking and heading towards us. My dog was on a leash and I started to bring her in but she was on a long leash because we were out here,” said Hleck when describing what happened.
Hleck said the beige dog, which she believed to be a bully breed, and possibly goes by the name Oscar, grabbed the puppy.
“He was shaking Fern and she was yelping and trying to get away and we were trying to open the dog’s mouth. The other owner and I were trying out very best. We were both crying.”
Eventually, the other dog released Fern. Hleck scooped her up and rushed her to a veterinarian but it was too late.
Hleck has reported to the attack to Nanaimo Animal Control Services. They are now looking for the owner and asking that he contact them.
Nanaimo Animal Control Services says once they talk to the dog’s owner, there would be a thorough and unbiased investigation, one that would lead to a number of potential outcomes, from a warning to an order that the dog be put down
“If he was able to yell out, he knew his dog was dog aggressive and I feel that he should’ve had a backup. He should’ve had a leash or a muzzle or something to open his mouth. It shouldn’t have happened,” said Hleck.
Hleck says she hopes the dog doesn’t hurt any other dogs or people.
“That’s the biggest piece is responsibility would’ve prevented it and now our family is missing a valuable member of it and it can’t be changed.”
Hleck says if the dog isn’t put down she’d expect there to be some stringent rules for its care going forward.
In early August, another unleashed dog in Port Alberni attacked a service dog leading to it being unable to work for several weeks while it healed. That dog owner has yet to come forward.
Kendall Hanson
