Achi news desk-
Wesley Grist spoke to the media on Sunday about the “hardest thing” he has been through in his life.
His son, Kache, aged 11, was killed last weekend by dogs in a home in south Edmonton. His father lived there with a roommate who owned the dogs.
“No parent wants to see their child like that, no one wants to see any child like that,” said Grist. “Kache was amazing, he was kind, he was sensitive, he was loving. He had the biggest heart. He was perfect, he was beautiful, he was my best friend. I love my son.”
Kache was Christ’s only child. The pair spent spring break together after Christ drove to Osoyoos to pick up Kache from his mother’s home.
“We had a lot of fun together, watching movies and stuff,” Grist said. “I was around these dogs that everyone labels as these beasts. I watched these dogs cuddle with him almost every day.”
Grist said his son recognized the dogs from previous visits with his father.
“I have lived with these dogs for a long time and it has never been a problem like this. I would never put my son in a place where he was in danger. I love my son,” Christ continued. “There was nothing that gave us any warnings that this was a problem.”
On the day of the attack, Grist said his son had just returned from the shop with snacks.
Grist said he was in the garage fixing a tire for his roommate when Kache gave him a Pepsi he had bought for his father and told him he loved him. Grist said his son then went into the house to play a video game the pair had bought the night before. Grist said he was in the garage for no more than 10 minutes when he finished the repairs and went into the house to check on his son.
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“I thought I heard the dogs making a fuss,” said Grist, clearly emotional. “I saw a mess and I didn’t know what it was, I didn’t see what it was, what I was looking at. That’s when I walked across the kitchen and found him.”
Choking back tears, Grist said he put the dogs outside and called 9-11 with the help of a friend.
“What I saw was difficult, and I don’t even want to be talking about this.”
Grist said when the police arrived, they took him out of the room. “About five, ten minutes later they came upstairs to tell me he was gone.”
“Now, I’m at this point where I’m supposed to be grieving and honoring my son as much as I can. And now there’s all this anger and all these things that have developed from all this media attention.”
Grist said he has not been able to grieve properly because of all the attention and threats against his roommate.
“My roommate also laments this. (Kache) called her Aunt Crystal.”
“Most of these people have the most to say, without a clue what they’re talking about, none of them lived in that house,” continued Grist. “It affects no one more than me and his mother.”
Grist said the dogs have since been euthanized.
“I’m still playing the stuff in my head and it’s killing me,” said Grist. “People need to stop and let us put it to rest.”
Global News has learned that Kache’s father’s roommate is the owner of two Cane Corso dogs.
The police were called to the quiet southern suburb, where they found the dogs and the boy, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Both animals were seized, and they remained in the care of the city’s Animal Care and Control unit.
Police have not said if the owner of the dogs will be charged. They also said an autopsy confirmed the boy died from a dog bite.
Be wary of Dog signs posted in the home, and neighbors have said the animals are a danger and a nuisance.
The city said animal control had been called for two previous attacks at the home. There have also been a number of barking complaints in the past year.
Kache’s mother, Kendrah Wong told Global News that he was an hour away from being picked up to go back to Osoyoos where he had recently moved with his mother, when the dogs attacked him.
“He was adventurous, brave, strong, beautiful. He had a heart of gold,” Wong told Global News on Thursday.
A GoFundMe has been started to help the family with funeral costs and other expenses have exceeded $28,000.
“The last thing I said to him was: ‘Come here, friend. I feel like I’m never going to see you again. Come and give mom a hug,’” Wong said through tears. “He came and gave me five hugs, three kisses and told me he loved me.”
A funeral for Kache is planned for next weekend.
— With files from The Canadian Press
& copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
