(submitted photo/Pam Smith)

By Tiffany Goodwein

dog owner charged

‘Our dog will never be the same’: Owner urging others to be responsible after dog suffers vicious attack

Dec 15, 2020 | 5:34 PM

MEDICNE HAT, AB- Pam Smith is still shaking, weeks after her four-year-old Border Collie Lab Cross Lexi was brutally attacked earlier this month.

“To listen to your dog, yelping, screaming, and you can’t do anything for them it’s a picture you don’t ever want to experience,” she said.

The incident occurred along the pathway on South Boundary road.

“My friend and I, we walk our dogs probably four, five times a week and we walk on this path all the time, and we had our dogs on leash, and we saw somebody approaching us, with their two dogs off-leash, and so I took my dog off the pathway to distract her, and unfortunately the other dogs came at her from behind,” she said.

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Lexi was pinned to the ground. Smith, her friend, and the other owner did everything to try to get the two dogs off.

“One was attached on my dog Lexi’s head and the other one was attached to her back legs, so I mean what do you do in that situation? And the owner, there’s three of us trying to pull these dogs off,” she said

They called 911. Lexi was taken to the vet and Smith to the emergency. Her hands and legs were bleeding from trying to separate the dogs. Lexi suffered a number of wounds.

(submitted photo/Pam Smith)

(submitted photo/Pam Smith)

“You could see there was blood all over, you could see puncture marks on her legs. She was in really, really, rough shape,” Smith said.

Since the incident, Lexi has been in and out of the hospital and Smith said she has a long road ahead of her.

“The saddest part of this whole thing is this could have all been prevented, you know with the two dogs off-leash. This so did not need to happen, and our dog will probably never be the same emotionally or physically,” said Smith.

(submitted photo/Pam Smith)

Charges have been laid against the owner of the two dogs, according to Heather Trail, Municipal Bylaw Enforcement Supervisor with the City of Medicine Hat.

“Two tickets have been issued for the dog owner of the dogs from Cypress County. One for the attack, the causing fear for safety and also for the bite,” she said.

The owner is required to appear in court.

Fines for the offenses range from a maximum $500 penalty to a minimum $350.00 penalty. The judge is required to make the fine determination, according to Trail.

As for if the two dogs who attacked Lexi will be put down, Trail said Bylaw does not make that decision.

“I think at this point we are not in a circumstance where that is a direction we want to push. However sometimes the judges can look at that as a potential but I don’t believe that will be a direction in this circumstance,” said Trail.

The traumatic incident, prompting a stark reminder from Bylaw and Smith for pet owners to be responsible by following the rules and keeping their dogs under control.

“I think it is important for people to understand that this could potentially be them. You know both dog owners on both sides of this circumstance love their pets unconditionally and this is a very unfortunate circumstance but it can happen when we are dealing with people’s pets,” Trail said

The owner of the two dogs is set to appear in court on Feb. 21.