Sarnia Police and City by-law enforcement say they’re actively investigating after a dog was killed in an attack at a local dog park last weekend.
Meghan Gendron said she was away on her honeymoon when she learned that her 12-year-old shih tzu died after being attacked by another dog at Blackwell Dog Park on May 12.
"My father was the one who experienced the trauma,” Gendron told The Journal this week, adding that her dad was watching her two dogs — Gillian (Gilly) and Oliver. “He was just taking the dogs to the park to have them run around, get some exercise. In terms of safety, we’ve always had good experiences with this park.”
But within five minutes of their arrival, Gendron says a large dog attacked Gilly while her father, and others, were unable to save her.
“They figure the dog broke [Gilly’s] neck,” Gendron said. “It took four people to get the dog off of her.”
Social media posts about the incident have garnered thousands of comments and shares, particularly due to claims that the owner of the other dog left the scene.
“The owner didn’t care — and that’s I think the most heartbreaking thing of all,” Gendron said. “She took her dog and she walked away.”
Gendron said police and animal control were notified, but weren’t able to do much at the time, noting that Blackwell Park is privately owned. Both the Sarnia Police Service and City of Sarnia confirmed to the Journal Thursday they were actively investigating the incident.
“The investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information is invited to reach out via email to [email protected]," city spokesperson Steve Henschel said in an email, adding that no specific details can be provided, with the investigation ongoing.
“It’s important to note this isn’t a City-owned public space.”
Request for comment from Waste Management, which owns the Blackwell Road facility, was not returned.
Many off-leash infractions involving pets don’t apply to private property, Henschel noted.
“However there are however some infractions our By-law Enforcement team can enforce in relation to incidents on private property under the City’s Regulation of Dogs and Cats By-Law, specifically the by-law’s provision that states:
• No owner shall permit his or her dog to threaten, bite or attack any person
• No owner shall permit his or her dog to bite or attack any domestic animal.”
Individuals in contravention of the by-law could face penalties under the Provincial Offences Act, he added.
Meanwhile, Gendron, who sent Gilly to be cremated this week, says she’s hoping the incident is a stark reminder to dog owners about safety and responsibility.
“I think that there’s a lot of great dog owners out there and a lot of owners that do take responsibility for their dogs,” she said. “Its about having the self awareness to realize that maybe your dog has some issues. A lot of people seem to have had really negative experiences with dog parks.
“We are the first ones to recognize that, we did take a small dog into a big dog yard, because we’d always had positive experiences; no one had ever bothered her before,” Gendron added. “I don’t want people to think that we don’t understand the risk — we did — and that’s something that we live with.”