Two people face charges after girl, 6, mauled by dog in Scarborough
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Two people face charges in connection with a dog attack that seriously injured a little girl in Scarborough earlier this week.
“In relation to the incident from June 28, 2023, where a six-year-old girl was bitten by the dog, I can confirm that two males were charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm,” Toronto Police Const. Cindy Chung said, on behalf of the investigators, in a statement released Thursday.
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Two people face charges after girl, 6, mauled by dog in Scarborough Back to video
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Two large dogs were captured in a cellphone video attacking a mother and her daughter outside an apartment building at 1375 Midland Ave. – south of Lawrence Ave. E. – around 7:10 a.m. on Wednesday.
The video shows the mom in a valiant tug-of-war with a black German Shepherd-mix that had clamped down on her daughter and refused to let go as it shook the child.
A minute into the video, three people appear and frightened the dog off, keeping it at bay. The second dog – sources have said is a Turkish Kangal – stayed a distance away from the mauling.
Both dogs were seized some time later in the area by Animal Control Services and are now in quarantine.
“The dogs have been seized by Animal Services and Officers from said unit are envisaging provincial charges under DOLA (Dog Owner Liability Act),” Chung said in the news release.
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On Thursday, area residents said another incident occurred on June 4 on Brockley Ave., near a residential area under construction not far from David and Mary Thompson Collegiate Institute.
Angel Tota said she, her boyfriend and eight-month-old American bulldog Zeno were at the basketball courts playing hoops in the early evening.
Three large dogs approached, two white Kangals and a black German Shepherd-mix, she recalled.
“All of a sudden I heard, ‘Get your dog, get your dog,'” said Tota.
She looked over and the three large dogs started hunting hers and then attacked it in a frenzy.
“There were a lot of guys trying to get the dogs off, maybe more than six guys,” said Tota. “Trying to haul the dogs off.”
“They finally got to pick up my dog and when that happened one of the (white) dogs latched to my dog’s leg and dragged him down.”
The dogs were finally separated but one of the rescuers suffered a puncture mark on his arm from a bite.
Her dog suffered bite marks to its torso, its back, its inner leg and on chin.
“I think for three dogs he held his own weight,” said Tota.
Tota said her and her boyfriend then got into her car and watched the three dogs “start roaming around.”
In a video she took from inside her car shortly after the attack on Zeno, the pack of dogs hunted down a baby raccoon – and then killed it.
Her friend had to wait 10 days, she said, while the dogs were quarantined and her friend tested negative for rabies.
Tota believes the owners of the dogs, used as guard dogs, are from an auto business on the west side of Midland. Ave. But she doesn’t know the exact location.
Police did say that an “incident occurred on June 4, 2023 and is actively investigated.”
The six-year-old girl who was mauled Wednesday needed more than 20 stitches to close her wounds and is recovering in hospital.
A relative said Thursday that “the girl will be in hospital supervision for a week.”
“(The) girl is feeling tremendous pain due to (the) severe dog attack,” read a text from the relative.
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