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If you find yourself, or your pet, in a dog attack, there are steps you can take to protect yourself, as well as legal action. Here’s what you need to know.
Signs that a dog may attack you or your pet
In Toronto, it is illegal to have dogs off-leash, except on private property or in designated off-leash areas, Toronto personal injury lawyer Jasmine Daya told the Star.
And if you come across an off-leash dog, it’s best to assume the worst, says Andre Yeu, founder of Toronto dog training school When Hounds Fly.
“It’s a red flag for me if they’re really stiff, like a statue, and they’re staring at me,” Yeu said. “That’s the worst sign, rather than an off-leash dog sniffing and wandering and tracking.”
It is also possible that an off-leash dog running towards you wants to attack you. Again, it’s best to assume it’s dangerous, Yeu said.
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Tips to prevent a dog attack
If you notice a dog running towards you, you have a few different options to try and stop an attack.
If you have treats to hand, the gentlest method would be to throw them at the dog. If the dog is not overly stimulated, it may stop, smell and eat the treat instead of attacking, Yeu said.
Another option is to stand straight, face the dog, and extend your hand in a “stop” motion while making a loud sound, such as shouting “no” or a firm “stop”. You could use a noise suppressor, such as an air horn, instead of shouting, Yeu explained.
“That can scare a lot of dogs into at least pausing their attack and thinking for a second,” he said.
Alternatively, you can use a dog repellent such as SprayShield, which is legal to buy in Canada, to keep the dog away. Yeu stressed that some people, including himself, may not feel comfortable using the spray until after they have verified that the dog is aggressive, “but, if you wait and see, you may now have had bit you or your dog has been bitten.”
In general, whether you use the spray or noise suppression depends on “risk tolerance and values” and there is no black and white answer, he said.
After you take these steps, most dogs that are not “highly aggressive and dangerous” will stop in their tracks and can continue to bark at a distance. But there is no guarantee that the precautions will work on every dog.
How to defend yourself in a dog attack
If a dog has not stopped after you have taken all those precautions, you should assume that it is going to bite you.
The next protective measure you should take is to find something – whether it’s something you already have or something you find – to use as a shield. It could be a bag, a backpack, a coat, or something else. If you have a coat or a backpack, you could take it off and put it in front of you, so the dog bites on that, rather than your arm or leg.
If that hasn’t worked, the object is on the floor, and you are facing the dog again, you should prioritize standing to keep your neck and neck safe.
“At this point, the main thing to do is not to be dragged to the ground. That’s the most dangerous thing,” said Yeu. “It’s very important that you stand up and brace yourself because once you fall to the ground, you become quite vulnerable.
“I would consider climbing on top of a park bench, a picnic table, or even jumping on the hood of a car. Getting up alone can provide a layer of safety, where they might not be able to climb up onto the car, for example.”
If that doesn’t work, and you’ve fallen to the ground with the dog latched onto you, you should curl up into a ball and use your hands to protect your neck and throat.
At this point, you should be screaming for help in the hope that a passerby will stop to help you.
If you, or your pet, are attacked by a dog, there are protective measures you can take, as well as legal action.
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How to protect your dog or someone else in a dog attack
Yeu provided different techniques that pet owners can use to protect their pet if attacked by a dog.
One is the wheelbarrow technique, which requires the rear legs of the attacking dog to be lifted, pulled back and turned. “Being lifted in the air can scare dogs enough to get up and break off their attack for a moment,” he said. He noted that grabbing the dog from behind reduces your risk of being bitten, compared to grabbing it by the collar.
The SprayShield or Pet Corrector could also be used at this point, says Yeu.
If, after those measures, the dog still hasn’t let go of your pet, Yeu said a way to get the attack dog to release its potentially deadly grip is to choke it, cut off its oxygen supply and ‘to force to open his mouth. and breathing. One way to do this would be to use a lead that you turn into a slip lead or nose by looping the clip through the handle.
“It’s possible for a dog to die or even die,” Yeu said. “But at this point, it’s very extreme because a person’s leg is in danger or the other dog is equally in danger of dying.”
Once the dog has dropped your pet, you should put your dog in a safe place, as high as possible. Depending on where the attack takes place, and how small your dog is, you could put him on the roof of a car, the back of a pickup truck, or even inside a blue bin.
What will happen if your dog bites someone?
“The only time a dog owner could be released from any civil liability, which is what we’re talking about when we talk about suing, is if the dog attacked his property because a person had trespassed for example, and going to commit a crime,” Daya said.
Dog owners could also face provincial charges under the Dog Owners Liability Act for breaching an order made under the law, or “in extreme cases,” face charges for criminal negligence and criminal negligence causing bodily harm under the Criminal Code of Canada.
Can you take legal action if you or your pet has been attacked?
If you’ve been injured in a dog attack and you want to take legal action, you have to know who the dog’s owner is, personal injury lawyer Jasmine Daya explained. Ideally, you would have the owner’s name and contact information, as well as witness information, photos of the injury and the dogs involved, and a timeline of events.
You should report any bites to Toronto Public Health for health and safety reasons as well as Toronto Animal Services at 311, Daya explained.
Once you have notified the city, a bylaw officer will usually investigate the case. They can ticket the owner for off-leash, which is a violation of the law or take different actions under Toronto’s municipal code.
For example, if this is the first time the dog has attacked someone, the city can issue a written warning to the owner. If it’s not the first time, the city may decide the dog needs a muzzle or to be put down, among other possibilities, Daya said.
“There’s a lot the bylaw officers could do,” he said. “Say this dog has already attacked before and it’s already required that this dog has a muzzle, and they didn’t have a muzzle. Then the bylaw officer could issue a ticket for that.”
If you have the owner’s name, you could also sue them. Under Ontario’s Dog Owners Liability Act, a dog owner is liable for damages resulting from a bite or attack on a person or other domestic animal.
If the dog’s owner has home insurance, the insurer will likely hire a lawyer and pay for a settlement, Daya explained.
“But if they don’t have insurance, then the individual would be on the hook themselves, and getting a payment out of an individual is not easy,” said Daya.
That’s because the owner may not admit fault and may not be willing to pay out of pocket, meaning it could take years to get them to pay you through the courts.
The same would be true if you were pursuing a lawsuit for injuries sustained by your pet—you’d want to settle so you don’t have to wait years to resolve the issue through Ontario’s backlog system, Daya says.
And while it is possible to sue for an injury your pet sustained, Daya said most lawyers won’t take the case because it would be in Small Claims Court. A paralegal would be more likely to take the case.
