Dogs kill 5 year old boy in Northern Sask

[babywillow]

Almost a year has passed since my willow was bitten and annother unfortunate dog attack occurs close to home


January 19, 2007
Canadian Press
CUMBERLAND HOUSE, Sask. — A little boy innocently enjoying a winter morning outside has died after being mauled by a pack of dogs near his home in northeastern Saskatchewan.
RCMP said the 5-year-old was attacked Thursday on the Cumberland House First Nation reserve near the Manitoba boundary.

“(He) was outside in his own neighbourhood, outside his own house, either just walking down the road or playing as 5-year-old boys do,” Sgt. Brad Kaeding said today in Regina.

“For whatever reason, which I guess is not known at this point and might not ever be known, he was attacked by a group of about five dogs.”

“There’s no indication at all that he was provoking them.”

Members of the Cumberland House First Nation found the boy lying on a road. He was taken to the local health centre before being flown to a Saskatoon hospital, where he died of his injuries Thursday night.

The boy suffered bite wounds, mostly to his upper body, and possibly hypothermia, police said.

An autopsy was scheduled for today.

The community was dealing with the problem, Kaeding said.

“Four or more dogs have been already put down as a result of this, presumably the ones that did attack him.”

Officials have said in the past that stray dogs are a chronic problem on some reserves.

In December, the Lac La Ronge Indian band in northern Saskatchewan, said roaming dogs were a challenge and that strays would be caught and destroyed to maintain some control on the canine population.

But the band also stressed the move was a last-resort measure.

Kaeding said the dogs that attacked the boy in Cumberland House appeared to be wild.

“I have heard comment from people in the community that the dogs were seen travelling together in a pack for the last few or several days,” he said.

In November, a 5-year-old boy in northern Alberta died after a similar attack by wandering dogs.

The mauling on the North Tallcree reserve was so vicious the boy’s facial features were destroyed. The child was also found by the side of a road.

A 5-year-old girl was also killed by dogs at nearby Garden River on the Little Red River reserve in November 1999 when she stopped to play with a puppy just 200 metres from her home.

That attack was blamed on animals that were starving.

[Cassiepeia]

My question is...where were the parents? He was 5 years old and wandering down a street on his own? In a neighbourhood that is known to have a problem with stray dogs?

Once again people blame the dogs when it is human error. My nephew is 5yrs old and my sister and her husband would commit murder before they'd allow him to wander on his own.

It frightens me that there are so many irresponsible people out there with children.

Cass.

[misdemeanorsmom]

Lady, you said a mouthful!!. I will NEVER understand what some people are thinking. You don't know who or what is around. I don't get how someone could be so reckless with their child's life. I couldn't exist knowing I could have prevented my child's death, let alone knowing my neglect was the cause.

[Beryl]

I say it is #1 the fault of the so-called guardian of the child -- it is not like a dog came from no where and attacked the child and there were people around to try to stop it (as in the case of Willow). This child was found on the road.

It is also the fault of the town that hasn't fixed the chronic problem of stray dogs. Suppose an elderly or feeble (physically or mentally) person was just taking a walk and was attacked? If they know about a problem, they need to take some serious steps to rid the area of the stray dogs. If that means putting the aggressive animals down, so be it.

[britishbandit]

I will never again assume to comment on something posted in the newspaper or online that doesn't go into details when it comes to a dog attack.

Babywillow is the proof that the media can really twist some stories, or leave out key points. The article on Willow did just that, and had us all thinking it was the guardian to blame. I cannot even say how happy I was to have her come and set the record straight for us.

In some or even many cases, yes, I could very well be the guardian to blame, but if we just don't know, we can't be so quick to judge.

I hope it wasn't the case, and no matter how it happened it is an aweful tragedy.

[babywillow]

i know too well how the media can distort stories.. and i cant say i know why the little boy was alone on the road and wont begin to make assumptions. but i have lived in a few reserve communities and unfortunately many of them do have problems with stray and ferrell dogs. most of the communities , cumberland house being one of them are fairly isolated and do not have access to veterinarians. so spay/neuter is often not an option, and the dog populations become to great. many people opt to just let them wander the communities and fend for themselves rather than have unwanted animals destroyed .most of these animals are extreamly timid and such commonplace that most people think of them more as a nuisance (often throwing stones at them or kicking at them) than as a possible threat .. untill of course someone is hurt or worse killed....
yes i do agree that communitiy leaders do need to do something about the exessive stray dogs in the communities but they often wait untill it is too late before anything is done

[Beryl]

Originally Posted by babywillow

many people opt to just let them wander the communities and fend for themselves rather than have unwanted animals destroyed .most of these animals are extreamly timid and such commonplace that most people think of them more as a nuisance (often throwing stones at them or kicking at them) than as a possible threat .. untill of course someone is hurt or worse killed....

And that is exactly why the stray dogs become aggressive. But then, people complain when laws are created to stop people from letting their dogs breeding willy-nilly. It is easier to complain than to find and implement a better solution.

It makes me sick on both accounts -- the poor human victims and the dogs that are left to roam, become vicious, and be killed.