Little dog mauled, killed in off-leash portion of dog park in Scarborough

CTVnews.ca
Aug. 19, 2016
By Rachael D’Amore

A small dog was mauled to death by another dog in a Scarborough park Friday morning.

David Hardy and Maime Gould said they were out walking their little dog, Cooper, this morning in the off-leash portion of Thompson Memorial Park near Brimley Road and Lawrence Avenue.

Gould said Copper, an 11-year-old toy poodle, usually visits an area in the park designated for small dogs under 20 pounds.

As they approached the small dog area, Hardy said a larger dog attacked Copper.

“I turned around looking for him and the next thing I know there’s a pile of dogs on him,” he said.

“We were just walking through, which we usually do. I just saw a dog with his mouth overtop of his head, just tearing at him and tearing at him,” Gould added.

Gould said she tried to get Copper’s head out of the other dog’s mouth and was bitten in the process.

Copper died of his injuries at the park.

Contacted by CTV Toronto, the owner of the bull terrier mix that attacked Copper said she’s “so sorry” about what happened and that her “heart goes out” to those affected.

The owner, who did not want to be named, said her dog was being walked by a dog walker at the time and that the actions were out of character for the animal.

Gould and Hardy said they don’t blame the dog walker for what happened.

“She was doing her job,” Hardy said. “Nobody told her the dog was dangerous. She didn’t do anything wrong it’s an off-leash park. It happened in seconds.”

Animal Services said they received the report of a “dog-to-dog” attack in Scarborough and confirmed that the dog that was attacked had died.

“An investigation is underway and appropriate action will be taken,” a spokesperson from Animal Services said.

Toronto police were also contacted about the incident and have launched their own investigation.

Hardy and Gould said they will consider taking legal action against the owner of the other dog.

‘What bothers me the most is that there are so many people who bring in their little children,” Gould said. “How many people did I stop in the parking lot and say, ‘don’t take your kids in there. There’s a big dog in there.’”

They said Copper was “never a problem” for other dogs in the past.

“The big dogs loved him. He’s a little sweetheart. He had no teeth. He was 11 years old.”