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The family of a Winnipeg woman says she is shaken and struggling to sleep after her dog was attacked and killed by another dog while on a walk in Winnipeg’s North Kildonan area earlier this week.
Linda Smith, 73, was on a routine walk with her three-year-old goldendoodle Lily in a residential area near Chornick Park around 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday when a larger dog broke free from its handler and charged at them.
Her son Justin Smith said the larger dog attacked Lily, who only weighed about 10 pounds.
The other dog caused serious damage by biting down and aggressively shaking Lily’s body around. The larger dog bit Linda’s hand when she tried to stop the attack.
Linda grabbed Lily in her arms and started running home after the dog’s handler, who was fostering it through rescue organization K9 Advocacy Manitoba, got the larger dog to let go.
“She got back home, got my dad and they got in the car and went straight to the vet. But Lily was already gone,” Justin said.
Lily and Linda had been inseparable, Justin said. Seeing her beloved pet killed in front of her has left his mother traumatized and grieving, he said.
“She hasn’t slept since the incident happened,” Justin said.
“Seeing this happen right in front of her eyes was very bad. My mom was a nurse for 47 years, so she’s seen a lot of things. And I’ve never seen her in the state that she’s in right now,” he said.
K9 Advocacy has offered to pay for Lily’s cremation costs.
The dog that bit Lily was taken by Winnipeg Animal Services. A city spokesperson said the incident is being investigated and the dog is being quarantined for at least 10 days, as required by the responsible pet ownership bylaw.
Justin says the family doesn’t blame K9 Advocacy or the woman fostering the dog — a female lab mix that was rescued from Sandy Bay last October, according to the rescue group.
Chelsea Kork, a director with the organization, says the attack is a “horrible tragedy” and was “completely unexpected” because the lab mix had previously been fostered with other dogs of varying sizes without any issues.
Most people who foster animals with the organization have done it many times and are very experienced, she said.
“We’re devastated for the family and we’re also shocked,” Kork said.
The foster dog is being euthanized, she said.
Manitoba dog overpopulation ‘out of control’
Linda’s family says what happened to Lily highlights how rescue organizations and volunteers are stretched thin by dog overpopulation in many rural and northern communities in the province.
They want to see stricter rules around foster placements and handling in public settings, as well as more support for groups working with these animals.
“We really want to try to shed light on the situation that’s going on with these dogs,” Justin said.
Kork says K9 Advocacy adopts out animals and runs spay and neuter clinics, but the rescue is still full and getting calls daily.
“The overpopulation in Manitoba is just absolutely out of control — cats and dogs. At any given time, we have about 200 dogs in care and about 250 cats in care. It’s insane,” Kork said.
“It’s just a problem that we have in this province.”
Fixing it will require more spay and neuter clinics and veterinarians, alongside stronger bylaws in some communities and more officers to enforce them, she said.