Dog released from animal services custody allegedly bites boy at Taekwondo studio

Toronto.Citynews.ca
Nov. 10, 2021
Meredith Bond

Just days after a dog was released from the custody of Vaughan Animal Services, it allegedly bit a 13-year-old boy in the face, leaving him with dozens of stitches.

The incident happened at Black Belt Studio on Bloor Street near Dovercourt Road in Toronto on Friday, shortly after the victim, Muhammed Almutaz Alzghool, was wrapping up his class. The studio is run by Tommy Chang who is the owner of the dog, Dwaeji.

Muhammed claims he was encouraged to approach the dog by his instructor, despite expressing a fear of dogs.

“He told me, ‘You have to overcome your fears and if you don’t you are not going to be a Taekwondo champion.’ So I got closer to the dog and looked at it and then he jumped on my face and bit it,” Muhammed tells CityNews. According to the victim, the dog let go immediately after.

His father, Muath Alzghool, said he immediately called 911 after seeing his son’s face. Muhammed suffered cuts to the left side of his face and lip, resulting in dozens of stitches.

A lawyer for Chang said they would not be commenting on the incident at this time due to a police investigation, but added Chang is fully cooperating.

His lawyer added, “I can state that there are two sides to every story and the actual facts, as opposed to what has been put forward in the media thus far by individuals involved, will become evident in due course.”

Muhammed said Chang was not present at the time of the incident. He had been a student at the Taekwondo studio for six months at the time of the incident and said he had not seen the dog present at the studio before Friday evening.

The dog had been held by Animal Services on suspicion of being a pit bull for several days until Monday when it was released.

A spokesperson for the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said recent regulatory changes allowed animals seized solely on the basis of their alleged breed to be returned to owners while a breed designation is conducted. However, the Ministry says the dog was released prior to these changes.

Had the dog been released after, the owners would have been subject to several restrictions including ensuring the dog does not have contact with the general public and that the dog does not have contact with people, unless a person is familiar with the dog or contact is appropriately limited and managed.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford became personally invested in multiple cases over the past month, several dog owners say, and promised he’d rescind the pit bull ban, known as breed-specific legislation, found in the Dog Owners’ Liability Act.

Vaughan MPP Michael Tibollo also helped the Chang family with reuniting them with their dog.

Alzghool says he was horrified over what happened to his son and would like to see additional regulations brought in to prevent this from happening to any other child.

“We have to have some regulation in the gyms, any place where kids are practicing to avoid these animals. We don’t know how these animals will react when they see these kids.”

He also hopes the government reconsiders the changes that let dogs be returned to their owners while their breeds are determined. “Just two days after this dog was released, my son paid the price.”

My son will suffer from this for his whole life ... the scars will be like this forever. I don’t want other kids to suffer like my son.”

A report has been filed with Toronto police and Vaughan Animal Services related to this incident. Neither organization would comment further, but Animal Services confirmed the same dog the report was filed about was the one they released early last week.

The dog had not been seized at this point.