A woman bitten by a dog over the long weekend says she’s disappointed by the response she received from the City of Winnipeg’s Animal Services Agency.
Nicole Agnew was walking her two small dogs down a back lane of Kenaston Boulevard on Sunday with her nine-year-old daughter in tow.
Agnew said she was charged by two aggressive dogs and one of them attacked her.
"He bit my hand and was on my arm,” she said. “I was basically defending myself and pushing him off."
Agnew has puncture wounds on her finger and scratches on her arm and is thankful the injuries weren’t worse.
After fighting off the dogs and retreating, she immediately called Animal Services.
"I was told by Animal Services that they could not visit the location where the dogs are located until they got a statement from myself,” said Agnew. “And they told me they were closed at 8:30 p.m. last night so they couldn't visit me."
A day after the attack, a CTV Winnipeg photojournalist and reporter found two aggressive dogs loose in the same laneway and were also charged by the animals.
Only loud shouting stopped the dogs from advancing further.
"That is definitely scary. The high-wagging tail and the fact that he comes low to the ground,” said animal behaviour specialist Catherine McMillan of the Winnipeg Humane Society as she watched a video of the encounter.
"I think you were quite fortunate, in some ways,” she said. “If that potentially scared the dog, we don't know if the loud noises and the stamping could scare the dog and then of course the dog can attack you in fear."
Instead, McMillan recommends backing away slowly and speaking in a calm soothing voice.
If the dog charges anyway, stand completely still and hope it decides you’re not a threat.
Forty-eight hours after the attack, Agnew had still not been able to give a statement to Animal Services and have them photograph her wounds.
The agency said it cannot visit dog owners until it has met with bite victims.
Monday was a statutory holiday and the agency only operates on an on-call basis on those days.
