A Chatham woman is calling for something to be done after she says her small dog was attacked and killed by two other dogs.
According to Lilly Wigle, around 3 p.m. on July 21 she was walking in her neighbourhood of St. Anthony Street and Redwood Crescent when two large dogs ran up to her and fatally mauled her 11-year-old dog Bandit, a Chihuahua-Pomeranian-Yorkie mix.
"We live on St. Anthony Street, PAWR is practically around the corner from us," explained Wigle. "Somebody wrapped Bandit in towels and I took her over there and she's still there."
At the time of the attack, Wigle, who runs a home daycare service, was out for a walk with two young children that were in her care. She said after seeing her dog get "torn apart," the last few days have been an emotional rollercoaster for her and her family. She said she's also worried about the children she was walking with, who are too young to completely comprehend what happened in front of them.
"All the kids loved Bandit, everybody loved Bandit," said Wigle. "She was so good with the kids. I'm going to have a tough time this week when my kids come back in, they're all going to be asking for her. She was so loving, such a character."
According to Wigle, she has been in contact with Chatham-Kent Police as well as PAWR, who told her the matter is an ongoing investigation.
Chatham-Kent Manager of Animal Control Services Benjamin Van Eyk confirmed to Blackburn News Monday morning that charges were laid against a Chatham man "as a result of a dog on dog attack that occurred last week on St. Anthony Street in Chatham" but said he could not elaborate any further at this time.
Wigle said she also consulted a lawyer but was told the firm only works with incidents involving dog on human attacks, not dog on dog.
Wigle said because the attack didn't directly involve a human, she believes the matter is not being taken as seriously as she thinks it should be. According to Wigle, she said putting her story on social media brought an onslaught of supporters, with many people sharing similar experiences.
"Learning that other people have been in the same boat and nothing is done, it's not right. Some people don't deserve to own dogs," she exclaimed. "I can't imagine this happening to a human, a child. There's so many children in this area, there are so many people walking their dogs night and day...it's a family neighbourhood...how many attacks is it going to have to take? Is it going to have to take a human? A kid? I wouldn't be able to live with myself if it happened to a kid."
Now, Wigle is calling on the two dogs to be euthanized, saying that she believes they pose a risk.
"I'm not going to rest until people like this who own dogs that are so vicious that attack and kill...Something needs to be done, there needs to be a new bylaw or something that these dogs get taken away from these people," said Wigle. "I'm a huge dog lover but when dogs attack and kill, they need to be put down."
Wigle said her next step involves contacting the municipality directly about the issue and making public officials aware of the incident. On Sunday, she also hosted a demonstration, walking up and down her neighbourhood with signs.
"All my family were here, I had friends here, we had some neighbours. We had quite a few people driving by and honking their horns," Wigle said. "It was a nice peaceful protest."
