Pack of dogs to be euthanized after attacking 3 Ponteix, Sask., teens

A judge has ordered the destruction of five Labrador dogs after an unprovoked attack in June on three Ponteix, Sask., teens.

The three teens — two girls, both 13, and a boy 14 — were walking by the residence of Robert Charles Carpenter when the dogs exited the yard through an open gate and began circling the teens.

The dogs attacked the teens without provocation, leaving several injuries.

In an Oct. 27 ruling, Swift Current provincial court Judge Karl Bazin found Carpenter guilty of two counts of owning dogs that attacked people.

The decision has been appealed. The case will be heard at Court of Queen's Bench in Swift Current.

Ponteix is in the southwest part of Saskatchewan, about 276 kilometres southwest of Regina.

Carpenter said there have been previous complaints about the dogs, though they were unspecified. He and his partner, Saphrine Ng, care for eight dogs in total, according to Bazin's decision, which was recently published on the Canlii legal database.

The dogs were seized by RCMP. They will be impounded until Nov. 11. Then, they are to be euthanized by a licensed veterinarian. 

Problems leading up to attack

One of the dogs involved in the attack previously bit someone in Calgary, when Carpenter lived there. Carpenter refers to the dog as "a biter." He also said when the dogs played together, they pretended to attack one another. 

The gate to the yard was left open because of a missing hinge. Carpenter knew the gate needed to be repaired, but said he was unable to find a replacement.

Ng acknowledged one of the dogs should not be let out of the yard and had to be trained. 

In an attempt to downplay the severity of the attack, Carpenter reasoned the dogs could have done a lot more damage to the teens if they wanted to. 

He also argued one of the girls provoked the attack by attempting to run "as people should know not to look dogs in the eyes and not to run if they come up to them," the document said.

The attack

According to a court document, the teens were walking down the street, hanging out, as teenagers do. The dogs, which were described as aggressive, approached the teens and circled them.

The girls were both bitten on the hand, but one girl's hand was not punctured by the bite.

"[The other girl] said there were a lot of hard bites, some not breaking the skin and some, as indicated in the photographs filed, puncturing her skin," the document read.

The boy had a bike with him at the time of the attack. He said he would bike to a nearby residence and lure the dogs away from the girls. He biked to a friend's house, where the dogs chased him and bit his thigh.

As the girls were making their way to one of their residences, the dogs returned, circled the girls and attacked again. 

The dogs knocked over one girl and all five attacked her at once, pinning her down as she kicked and screamed.

She was able to regain her footing and get to the steps of the house where the dogs repeatedly backed off and then attacked again.

The dogs stopped the attack suddenly and left. Roughly at the same time the attack ended, the girl's mother arrived at the residence. 

Injuries

One girl received the brunt of the injuries, suffering bite marks, bruising and scratches to her thighs, calves and hands.

The document mentioned the many needles and painkillers she needed after the attack. She will have permanent scarring as some of the wounds were not able to be stitched up due to infection concerns, the document said.

The boy suffered a bite mark to the thigh which punctured the skin. He needed a tetanus shot after the attack.

Both girls now both suffer from emotional trauma.

"[One girl] talked about hearing her friend screaming in pain as the dogs attacked her. She talked about how they were frozen with fear when the dogs came out at them. She talked about how fast it happened and how they were afraid and how they worried whether [she] was going to be alright," the document said.

"She expressed the guilt that she feels for not jumping in and saving [her friend] from the dogs. [She] believes the memory will stick with her forever."