UPDATE — 5:34 p.m. PST: In an emailed news release, Richmond RCMP initially identified the dog as a Rottweiler-pitbull cross. The detachment has since amended the release on their site, saying the animal is just a Rottweiler-cross, not a pitbull mix.
A Richmond, B.C. woman is in critical condition after being mauled by an 80-pound dog while she tried to protect her three-year-old nephew on Wednesday.
Officers were brought to an outdoor field after receiving multiple calls about the attack. There, they found a 21-year-old woman covered in blood trying to fend off a Rottweiler-cross.
“Our officers commented that it was a horrifying sight to bear witness to,” Cpl. Dennis Hwang said in a news release Thursday. “We see and love dogs as faithful companions and now they were witnessing a scene from their worst nightmare.”
According to police, one officer managed to distract the dog while another attempted to help the woman escape. But when the dog started to re-attack the woman, an officer fired a shot, which prompted the dog to flee.
The woman was brought to hospital where she underwent treatment for over 100 dog bites and a fractured arm. She’s also undergoing surgery for a detached bicep.
Her twin sister, the mother of the toddler, was also at the field during the dog attack. She was taken to hospital with serious injuries, mostly cuts.
The boy was unharmed.
‘Incredibly heroic’ efforts
Police say the dog is known to the sisters, belonging to a boyfriend. The dog was eventually found uninjured and captured by animal services.
Hwang praised a Good Samaritan who put himself between the dog and family and suffered a cut to his hand. The sisters were also commended for acting on their instincts.
“Their drive to protect the boy was incredibly heroic,” he said.
This latest dog attack comes a week after an elderly couple in Fort St. John were mauled by dogs on Christmas Day. In that attack, one dog was shot dead and the other was tracked and “humanely put down.”
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