'Everybody is in shock': Sask. man allegedly killed by neighbour's 2 dogs

A woman from Witchekan First Nation says she's mourning after two dogs attacked and killed her older brother while he was mowing a neighbour's lawn.

"Everybody is in shock that something like this could happen, that he could be taken so violently from us," Giselle Thomas said of her brother Noel Thomas.

Giselle says Noel, 43, was helping his neighbours when the two dogs attacked him.

She says the dogs — that belonged to the neighbour — charged at him from behind and bit his leg while the other attacked his left hand.

She says neighbours walking by heard him yell for help and had their dogs attack the other dogs to get them off Noel.

"He stood up for a little bit and walked around and then he just collapsed after that happened … they called 911 and shortly after I arrived and I started performing CPR," she said.

Giselle says her older brother was pronounced dead at the scene.

"She (the owner) had so much recklessness, she put his life in danger by allowing him to come to their shared yard and having those dogs outside like that," Giselle said.

The owner of the dogs has apologized to Noel’s mother but not to other family members, according to Giselle.

In an email to CTV News, RCMP confirmed members of Spiritwood RCMP assisted in a "non-suspicious death" investigation at the First Nation on June 1.

The Saskatchewan Coroners Service is investigating the incident.

A post-mortem examination has been completed and results will be available in approximately four to six months, the coroners service said.

The Thomas family says the dogs were seized but it’s not enough, they’re hoping that charges will be laid and the owners will take responsibility for their actions.

The family claims there have been other incidents involving the dogs.

"We want the maximum amount of charges because this has happened four times with those dogs, they have attacked four people and this has caused death now," Giselle said.

Giselle says there’s an overpopulation of dogs on the First Nation, leading to people feeling unsafe.

"What if there’s mom, their father, their brother? Too many people are getting attacked by dogs and nothing is being done so I want (the owner) to be charged to set an example to the rest of Saskatchewan," she said.

Noel’s niece Savanna says she was 15 minutes away from town when she got a call to hear about what happened to her uncle.

“It was just hard, hard to understand. Kind of felt like a movie even getting to the scene, it just didn't feel real,” Savanna told CTV News.

Savanna says if the owners took action and given up their dogs who were “obviously vicious” in other alleged instances, her uncle’s death wouldn’t have happened.

People in the community often walk around with golf clubs to protect themselves from other dogs, she said.

“There's a lot of houses that we community members know to look out for because there's a mean dog there. It's not like one or two. It's probably like 10 or 12."

A funeral for Noel was held on Witchekan First Nation last week. Giselle says she and many people hold fond memories of her brother who was taken too soon.

"A lot of our family members shared stories about him coming over and visiting and him making coffee and greeting everyone and asking if they wanted any help around the house."