A Toronto woman was recently left with life-altering injuries after being attacked by two off-leash dogs in Etobicoke, prompting police to release an image of the dog handler and appeal to the public to come forward with any information they have.
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If you find yourself, or your pet, in a dog attack, there are protective measures you can take, as well as legal action. Here’s what you need to know.
Signs a dog might attack you or your pet
In Toronto, it’s illegal to have dogs off-leash, except on private property or in designated off-leash areas, Toronto personal injury lawyer Jasmine Daya told the Star.
And if you do come across a dog with no leash, it’s best to assume the worst, said Andre Yeu, the founder of the Toronto dog training school When Hounds Fly.
“A red flag for me is if they're very stiff, like a statue, and they're staring at me,” Yeu said. “That's the worst sign, as opposed to an off-leash dog that's sniffing and wandering and tracking.”
It’s also possible that an off-leash dog running toward you wants to attack you. Again, it’s best to assume it’s dangerous, Yeu said.
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Tips to prevent a dog attack
If you notice a dog running toward you, you have a few different options to try to prevent an attack.
If you have treats on hand, the gentlest approach would be to throw them towards the dog. If the dog isn’t too stimulated, it may stop, sniff and eat the treats instead of attacking, Yeu said.
Another option is to stand straight, face the dog, and extend your hand in a “stop” motion while making a loud sound, such as shouting a firm “no” or “stop.” You could use a noise deterrent, like an air horn, instead of shouting, Yeu explained.
“That can intimidate a lot of dogs to at least pause their attack and think about it for a second,” he said.
Alternatively, you can use a dog repellent spray like SprayShield, which is legal to purchase in Canada, to keep the dog away. Yeu stressed that some people, including himself, may not feel comfortable using the spray until after they’ve verified the dog is aggressive, “but, if you wait to see, you might now be bitten or your dog has been bitten.”
Overall, whether you use the spray or a noise deterrent comes down to “risk tolerance and values” and there’s no black and white answer, he said.
After you’ve taken these steps, most dogs who aren’t “super aggressive and dangerous” will stop in their tracks and may continue barking at a distance. But there’s no guarantee the precautions will work on all dogs.
How to defend yourself in a dog attack
If a dog hasn’t stopped after you’ve taken all those precautions, you should assume it’s going to bite you.
The next protective measure you should take is finding something — whether it’s something you already have or something you find — to use as a shield. It could be a bag, backpack, coat, or something else. If you have a coat or backpack on, you could take it off and put it in front of you, so the dog bites on that, rather than your arm or leg.
If that hasn’t worked, the object is on the floor, and you’re faced with the dog again, you should prioritize standing up to keep your neck and throat safe.
“At this point, the main thing to do is to not get dragged to the floor. That's the most dangerous thing,” Yeu said. “It's really important to stand up and brace yourself because once you fall to the ground, you become quite vulnerable.
“I would consider climbing on top of a park bench, a picnic table, or even jumping onto the hood of a car. Just getting up can provide a layer of safety, where they may not be able to climb up on the car, for example.”
If that doesn’t work, and you’ve fallen to the ground with the dog latched onto you, you should curl up into a ball and use your hands to protect your neck and throat.
At this point, you should be screaming for help in hopes that a passerby stops to help you.
If you find yourself, or your pet, in a dog attack, there are protective measures you can take, as well as legal action.
Yan Hui
How to defend your dog or someone else in a dog attack
Yeu provided different techniques that pet owners can use to protect their pet if it’s being attacked by a dog.
One is the wheelbarrow technique, which requires picking up the rear legs of the attacking dog, pulling backwards and turning. “Being lifted up in the air can startle dogs enough to lift and break off their attack for a moment,” he said. He noted that grabbing the dog from behind reduces your risk of being bitten, compared to grabbing it by the collar.
The SprayShield or Pet Corrector could also be used at this point, Yeu said.
If, after those measures, the dog has still not let go of your pet, Yeu said a way to get the attacking dog to release its potentially deadly grip would be to choke it, cutting off its oxygen supply and forcing it to open its mouth and breathe. One way of doing this would be to use a leash that you turn into a slip lead or a noose by looping the clip through the handle.
“It's possible for a dog to pass out or even die,” Yeu said. “But at this point, it's very extreme because a person's leg is in danger or the other dog is equally in danger of dying.”
Once the dog has let go of your pet, you should put your dog in a safe place, as high up as possible. Depending on where the attack takes place, and how small your dog is, you could put it on the roof of a car, the back of a pickup truck, or even inside a blue bin.
What happens if your dog bites someone?
“The only time when the owner of a dog could be absolved of any civil liability, which is what we're talking about when we talk about suing, is if the dog attacked on their premises because an individual had trespassed for example, and was going to commit a crime,” Daya said.
Dog owners could also face provincial charges under the Dog Owner’s Liability Act for contravening an order made under law, or “in egregious cases,” face charges for criminal negligence and criminal negligence causing bodily harm under the Criminal Code of Canada.
Can you take legal action if you or your pet has been attacked?
If you’ve been injured in a dog attack and you want to take legal action, you have to know who the owner of the dog is, personal injury lawyer Jasmine Daya explained. Ideally, you’d have the owner’s name and contact information, as well as witness information, pictures of the injury and of the dogs involved, and a timeline of events.
You should report any bites to Toronto Public Health for health and safety reasons as well as Toronto Animal Services at 311, Daya explained.
Once you’ve notified the city, a bylaw officer will usually investigate the case. They may issue the owner a ticket for having their dog off-leash, which is a bylaw infraction or take different actions under the Toronto municipal code.
For example, if it’s the first time the dog has attacked someone, the city may give the owner a written warning. If it’s not the first time, the city may determine the dog needs a muzzle or to be put down, among other possibilities, Daya said.
“There's a lot the bylaw officers could do,” she said. “Say this dog has already attacked previously and there's already a requirement that this dog have a muzzle, and they didn't have a muzzle. Then the bylaw officer could issue a ticket for that.”
If you have the owner’s name, you could also sue them. Under Ontario’s Dog Owners’ Liability Act, a dog owner is liable for the damages resulting from a bite or attack on a person or another domestic animal.
If the owner of the dog has home insurance, the insurer will likely hire a lawyer and pay for a settlement, Daya explained.
“But if they don't have insurance, then the individual would be on the hook themselves, and getting payment out of an individual is not easy,” Daya said.
That’s because the owner may not admit fault and may not be willing to pay out of their own pocket, which means it could take years to force them to pay you through the courts.
The same would be true if you were pursuing a lawsuit for injuries your pet sustained — you’d want to settle so that you don’t have to wait years to resolve the issue through Ontario’s backlogged system, Daya said.
And while it is possible to sue for an injury your pet sustained, Daya said most lawyers won’t take the case on because it would be in Small Claims Court.
