MINTO – A dog bite that left a Minto resident needing 10 stitches has led to a “dangerous dog” designation by council.
On July 30 a Labradoodle named Bowie attacked and bit Stella Wallace, who was walking on Regency Drive in Clifford.
The dog bit her leg, resulting in immediate and ongoing medical treatments, stated town officials.
Bylaw enforcement officer Rick Hobbelink designated Bowie as a dangerous dog in the Town of Minto and notified the owners on Sept. 9 of the designation.
According to Minto officials, a dog designated as dangerous is “a dog that, in the absence of any mitigating factor, has attacked, bitten or caused injury to a person or has demonstrated a propensity, tendency or disposition to do so.”
Council held a special council meeting on Oct. 1 to facilitate a hearing for both parties.
Dog owners Robert and Brandy Rutherford appealed the designation as this was Bowie’s first bite occurrence, but council ultimately stood by Hobbelink’s designation.
After the biting incident, the dog was quarantined for 10 days and was released on Aug. 14 with no concerns for rabies transmission, stated Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health inspector Silvia Leonov in emails to Hobbelink.
A family member of Wallace shared what their mother in-law had to “endure” after the bite, via an email to Hobbelink, including:
- an emergency room visit resulting in 10 stitches;
- the wound became infected, resulting in the need for antibiotics;
- “lack of wound healing” and needing ongoing treatments with a wound care specialist
- needing a debridement treatment;
- she had to stop cancer treatments because the wound was not healing;
- she is unable to walk around her subdivision without “fear of this dog;” and
- she struggles when she sees or hears other dogs and is “emotionally shaken” by the incident.
The family member added it took more than two weeks to gain the municipality’s attention regarding the incident.
The email also stated “people are afraid to walk in their own subdivision, where kids and elderly people live.”
To resolve the concerns Robert Rutherford told Hobbelink on Aug. 21 that he had purchased a fence for the property.
Although he had an invisible dog fence already, Robert stated it wouldn’t stop Bowie from leaving the area.
“Robert told me he feels very bad about the incident and that he knows his neighbours well,” stated Hobbelink in an email in the council agenda.
“Most neighbours have expressed they have long harboured fears related to this dog since learning of the attack,” stated another email.
Now that Bowie has been deemed a “dangerous dog,” the owner is required to:
- keep the dog confined within the owner’s dwelling;
- securely attach a muzzle to the dog at all times when it is not confined;
- obtain and maintain in force a policy of public liability insurance;
- provide the dog control officer with a certificate indicating a microchip has been implanted identifying the dog as a “potentially dangerous dog” or “dangerous dog;”
- display a sign at each entrance to the property and building where the dog is kept, warning a “dangerous dog” is on the property; and
- advise the dog control officer immediately if the dog transfers owners.
Bowie must always be leashed when going outside of the fenced yard and anywhere the dog is not contained, even if he is just going to the car.
“We have had other dogs in Minto designated dangerous in the past,” town clerk Annilene McRobb told the Advertiser.
The most recent designations were in December 2022 and December 2018.
