Five-year-old Saskatoon boy suffers head injury in dog attack
Warning: this story contains a graphic image of an injury.
A Saskatoon couple says they felt ignored by police after their five-year-old foster son was attacked by a dog outside the Meadowgreen Confectionary on March 22.
“He was walking to school with his foster dad and his nine-year-old brother and some guy was in the store and just letting his dog run around the parking lot, and it attacked,” said the boy’s mother, who asked to remain anonymous to protect her son’s identity.
“It almost ripped his whole scalp off the top of his head.”
When the father moved to pry the dog’s jaws open, he says the owner jumped in and tried to wrestle him away from the dog.
A passerby pulled up in a van and offered to take them to the hospital. On the way, they saw the police speaking to the dog owner, he says.
When they pulled over to talk to the police, they were told to wait while they got the dog home, he says. Instead, they drove to the emergency room.
It took over 50 stitches to close the wound on the boy’s scalp, the parents said. The nurse told his father that it was centimetres away from puncturing the skull. Source: Facebook
The mother was upset the police didn’t show more concern for her injured child.
CTV News reached out to the Saskatoon Police Service and they confirmed police responded to a report of a dog attack around 8:40 a.m. on March 22 around Avenue W South and 18th Street West.
Police said they located the dog and its owner, and that officers asked the parent to leave the scene because the dog was becoming aggressive toward them.
“While officers were speaking to the owner, a woman in a vehicle pulled up and began shouting at all parties. She stated that it was that dog that attacked her child before the officers asked her to remove herself from the area as the dog was becoming aggressive towards her.”
The victim’s parent filed a police report, and the incident is now being investigated by Saskatoon animal control, police said.
It took over 50 stitches to close the wound on the boy’s scalp, the parents said. The nurse told his father that it was centimetres away from puncturing the skull.
They say it was irresponsible of the owner to leave the dog outside unrestrained. The boy’s foster mother thinks the dog may have to be euthanized.
“We will be taking them to court if they don’t euthanize them ... he’s going to go after another kid.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'The lost season': Winter comes to a close as Canada's warmest on record
The warmest winter on record could have far-reaching effects on everything from wildfire season to erosion, climatologists say, while offering a preview of what the season could resemble in the not-so-distant future unless steps are taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
NEW High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.
Freddie Mercury's home is on the market for first time since 1980 minus his 'exquisite clutter'
Freddie Mercury's sanctuary in London, where he lived the last decade of his life, is on sale for the first time in nearly half a century -- minus his "exquisite clutter."
NEW Where to watch the state funeral for former prime minister Brian Mulroney
A state funeral for former prime minister Brian Mulroney will be held in Montreal on March 23. CTV News will have live special coverage of his funeral service.
Trump says Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and their religion
Former U.S. president Donald Trump on Monday charged that Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and hate 'their religion,' igniting a firestorm of criticism from the White House and Jewish leaders.
NDP motion regarding Palestinian statehood passes after major Liberal alterations
A motion from the federal New Democrats initially calling on Canada to recognize the 'State of Palestine' passed amid widespread acrimony on Monday, after the Liberals drastically altered its wording to see the government simply work towards that aim as part of a two-state solution.
Retired teacher pleads guilty to paying for sex with 15-year-old in Collingwood, Ont.
In a Barrie courtroom on Monday, a retired high school teacher from the Niagara Region pleaded guilty to sexual touching and obtaining sexual services from a 15-year-old boy in Collingwood in 2021.