A Hamilton woman and her partner are hoping the city of Hamilton and local authorities will take more action to address how dog attacks are handled after an encounter with a vicious animal on an Ancaster trail last week.
Tamara Dufour, 47, had to endure 30 stitches in the middle of a nine-hour trauma center visit after she was bitten by a German shepherd on the Chedoke Radial Trail on June 23.
Despite the city of Hamilton revealing a week later that the owner faces three charges, Marcel Camposilvan, who witnessed his better half being “mutilated,” believes more needs to be done to manage the fallout from an attack.
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“If this is the end and they have issued this order and that is it, that is not enough for me,” Camposilvan told Global News.
Camposilvan said he and Dufour were biking in Iroquoia Heights shortly after 6 p.m. when they came across a man, believed to be in his 60s, and his dogs on leashes.
Dufour got off the bike and stepped aside to let the dogs pass, and one of them broke free of its owner’s hands and lunged at her, sinking its teeth into her right leg.
“So he managed to knock the dog away, like he was pushing it with the bike,” Camposilvan said.
“As he takes it off, I start using my bike as a barricade, because the dogs are still freaking out.”
Dufour turned to the man and asked for information after his injury, but left the area without a response as the owner appeared to be out of control of his animals, according to Camposilvan.
“He just didn’t respond… he just kept cursing at the dogs, trying to get control back, I guess,” Camposilvan said.
The couple called 911 requesting the police and an ambulance and they obtained an ambulance a short time later.
After leaving their bikes at home, Camposilvan called police and animal services on the way to the hospital to see Dufour.
During that trip, a Hamilton Public Health officer would contact him to request information about the dog’s owner, saying they needed it to start an investigation.
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Camposilvan would serve hours later after doing his own investigative work through information received through comments made on a Reddit post he published about the assault.
The pair have also launched an online campaign through social media posts and placed flyers on two signs on the Chedoke Radial Trail, which they say has generated about 10 connections a day over the past week.
Hamilton residents Tamara Dufour and Marcel Camposilvan say they have received as many as 10 responses a day from trail stakeholders after word spread of Dufour’s leg injury following a dog attack.
Marcel Camposilvan
The city notified them Tuesday that an investigation had been launched.
The charges came a week after the incident, consistent with the Responsible Animal Ownership Ordinance 12-031for two counts of failing to license a dog and allowing a dog to bite a person.
Authorities did not release the owner’s name amid the ongoing investigation.
A spokesperson for the city of Hamilton says both dogs have been designated “dangerous” under the statute, however the mandatory 10-day confinement of both dogs is left up to the owner.
“Confinement is under the care of the owner unless Hamilton Public Health Services has reason to believe the owner cannot confine the animal at home or the owner chooses not to,” said Aisling Higgins, director of communications, to Global News in an email. .
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“The lockdown includes limiting the contact animals have with anyone outside the family home, no off-leash dog parks, no groomers, and vet appointments only if necessary.”
Higgins said the nature of the confinement is protocol to limit rabies exposure to the general public in the event “the animal shows symptoms.”
Camposilvan said he and Dufour welcome the investigation and the charges, but are concerned about the length of time it took to see action.
“The biggest thing was an initial frustration … in the first three days of trying to report this to police and animal services,” Camposilvan said.
“Everyone was telling us, ‘Oh, we need you to find the vehicle’s owner’s name, address and license plate,’ which is impossible, to find your attacker’s information.”
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