The two dogs that viciously tore apart a small Yorkie-Pomeranian on Wednesday, attacked a black Labrador in the same north Edmonton neighbourhood last month, according to the pet’s owner.
Erin Richardson read about Wednesday’s fatal mauling in the news and said she immediately recognized the description of the attacking dogs.
The two American Staffordshire Terriers, a pit bull breed, live on a property near her home.
Richardson said she was introducing her pet, Raven, to the dogs in June when one of them lunged at Raven.
At the time, she said two children had been walking the dogs in a shared neighbourhood courtyard.
A neighbouring dog latched onto Raven’s throat in June, puncturing the skin on her neck. (Supplied/Erin Richardson)
“Their tails were wagging and they looked like really happy, innocent-looking dogs,” Richardson recalled.
“And it came out of nowhere — one second everything was fine and the next second there was a dog on my dog.”
The dog latched onto Raven’s throat, gouging deep wounds into her skin.
“It was panic mode,” Richardson said about her scramble to pull the dog off her pet and away from her own nearby children.
“He wouldn’t let go,” she said. “It was really hurting my dog — she was screaming.”
“The kids all panicked, they all dropped their leashes and everybody scattered back,” she added. “So it was just me trying to get this really loud, growling dog off my dog.”
Richardson tried kicking the dog, but said she was worried about injuring the animal. A neighbour rushed to help, yanking the attacking dog off Raven by its hind legs.
Erin Richardson is urging fellow pet owners to be careful around unfamiliar dogs after her black lab was attacked in June. (Zoe Todd/CBC)
Raven needed antibiotics to recover from her wounds, which Richardson said became infected after the attack.
She reported the incident to animal control and said an officer later told her the other dogs’ owner was fined.
After reading about Wednesday’s attack, Richardson reached out to the dead dog’s owner on Facebook.
“I was like, ‘This is a very familiar story with very familiar-sounding dogs and I think that you and I need to talk,’ ” Richardson said.
The two are warning neighbours not to leave pets or children unattended in the area.
Raven has recovered fully from a dog attack that left her with deep wounds on her neck. (Zoe Todd/CBC)