When Peter Mandic tried to break up an attack on his dog at the leash-free dog park here on Sept. 13, he ended up being the victim of a deep bite himself.
Mandic said he takes full responsibility for his own injuries since he tried to separate a boxer-lab cross from Eddie, his Munsterlander dog.
“The [boxer-lab] was in full fight mode … I’ll take responsibility for that,” Mandic said of the incident. He added that when he pulled that dog off, Eddie, who was also in full fight mode after being attacked, tried to go for the now restrained attacker. When Mandic put his foot out to block Eddie’s attack, the boxer turned and bit him deeply in the thigh.
Mandic said there are a couple of things to learn from the incident, and that includes that breaking up a fight between two dogs is best done by whacking one of them on the top of the head with a small stick, which will likely cause it to turn tail.
But, he said, the incident was troubling. He stayed in the park for 20 minutes or so until Eddie had calmed down. He said the person in charge of the boxer asked if he was OK, and he said he was, even though he was still bleeding.
But, he said, he did get the licence number from the attacking dog’s vehicle. He traced the owner, and learned that the owner had not been at the park with the attacking dog, and that dog had been under the supervision of a friend.
He said that is dangerous in a leash free park, especially considering that boxers can be aggressive.
He also noted that hospital officials and Public Health want details about the owner of the dog who attacked so they can do follow-up checks. He said he was ultimately able to get that information, and the dog was placed by its owner under a ten-day quarantine – even though it had had all its shots.
Mandic said he has since learned that many people use leash-free parks to enable their dogs to socialize with other dogs, but his reading on the internet indicates that a leash-free park is no place for such socialization. In fact, it should be forbidden.
Mandic spent three hours in hospital and an uncomfortable night with his injuries. He said in an interview people should obtain all information from such incidents.
“People should go into the park with their eyes wide open,” Mandic concluded.
Centre Wellington Township has been quietly preparing a park for dogs to run free this summer as an experiment. It is being used regularly, particularly in evenings, by dog owners and their pets.
Mandic added that Centre Wellington Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj and at least one councillor are aware of the attack. To date, there have been no formal rules set for the park usage other than having owners clean up after their pets.
The park will have its official opening this Saturday at 10am.
Public Works Director Ken Elder said the park appears to be popular, and he has visited the park off Gartshore Street in the evenings and seen as many as 30 people there with their pets.
