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AHS is reviewing the ambulance’s long response time of 30 minutes, saying “there were no ambulances available immediately” at the time of the attack.
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June 6, 2022 • 22 minutes ago • 4 minutes of reading • 24 comments Alley behind Block 1500 on 21st Avenue NW where an 83-year-old woman was attacked and killed by three dogs in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022 Photo by Darren Makowichuk / Postmedia
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The Capitol Hill community is in shock after an elderly woman was killed in a dog attack Sunday afternoon.
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Police responded to the Northwest community at Block 1500 on 21st Avenue NW around 2 p.m., finding an elderly woman with serious injuries. Investigators believe the woman was in an alley behind doing garden work when a neighbor’s three dogs escaped from her yard and attacked her. Police say the 86-year-old woman died from her injuries at the hospital.
A man living behind the victim said his wife called 911 after seeing how the incident unfolded in the alley between their homes. He ran out to help the woman while she was seriously injured against a garage door. Police said neighbors and the owner were able to remove the dogs from the site before rescuers arrived.
“I only saw the dog owner dragging two dogs into the yard. I didn’t see the third dog,” said the neighbor, who only identified himself as Lane on Monday morning. He said the woman’s name was Betty, but the neighbors knew her as Rusty or Red.
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“I kept her upright so she wouldn’t lean back and drown again and I just grabbed her. The dog owner came out with a pair of towels shortly after. We put her on her neck, back and shoulders to try to keep it warm “.
Lane said law enforcement officers showed up quickly, arriving in the alley less than two minutes after his wife called for help. But he said paramedics took more than half an hour to appear.
AHS told Postmedia that it has initiated a review of the incident’s long response time and has contacted the victim’s family directly.
“EMS answered this call in about 30 minutes. This is longer than we expected and is out of our target response times,” said AHS spokesman James Wood.
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“EMS was challenged at an extremely high volume at the time of this incident, meaning no ambulances were available immediately.”
Even with a faster ambulance response, Lane said paramedics probably couldn’t have done anything for Betty because of the severity of her injuries, and described them as “catastrophic.”
On Monday, in a brief update, police said they are continuing to interview witnesses and are working with status officers to determine possible charges. Police said earlier these charges could include negligence that resulted in death or a felony, depending on what is found in the investigation.
Police said the three dogs involved are believed to be a mixture of American pit bull terrier, a mixture of American Staffordshire and an American pit bull.
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“This was an extremely tragic event that killed an innocent woman,” said Calgary Police Detective Kerry Parsons.
“Our condolences to the family and loved ones of the victim as we continue to investigate this incident.”
Calgary City Services confirmed that the dogs were confiscated Sunday afternoon and that there is no risk to the community. Police said the dogs remain in custody while the investigation continues.
Alley behind block 2100 15th Street NW where the attack took place. Photo by Darren Makowichuk / DARREN MAKOWICHUK / Postmedia
Sean Goebel, who lives on the street, said he was doing some work on his roof when he noticed the arrival of the status officers. He said he found it curious that the statute was first on the scene, initially thinking it was a standard response to issue a ticket.
“It would be a difficult scene to be as a statute officer,” Goebel said. “I don’t know if they’re even trained for that.”
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Goebel said he has seen the owner walk his dogs often, describing them as “big, strong, powerful dogs,” though he believed the man only had two dogs.
“We knew how to stay away from these dogs. I also have a dog, so I walked away,” Goebel said, noting some cases of behavior problems he had seen when the owner was walking the dogs around the neighborhood.
“If they are well trained, they are wonderful animals, but if you don’t take care of them properly, it’s a big problem.”
Neighbors say the dog owner lived in the house with a partner, but most have been left alone since they moved into the house just a few months ago. Lane said the owner was “gutted” after the incident.
“I thought he was going to vomit,” he said, adding that the man cooperated with police and status officers.
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Lane said Betty had lived in her 21st Avenue NW home for over 30 years and had known her for the past 25 years. She was an avid gardener, always working in the backyard.
“She made her own garden, built the fence … she’s cut the carriages I don’t know how many times now alone,” Lane said.
“(She) embarrassed us all in terms of activity and fitness … It was just a small slip of the person.”
Barri 7 Coun. Terry Wong said his heart goes out to the victim’s family.
“We are very concerned that the Pet Ownership Regulation has not been respected or respected,” Wong said Monday by telephone.
“This is something we are waiting for more information from Calgary Community Standards, to find out more about the circumstances surrounding it.”
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He said he would press for answers on why the attack happened and investigate how the council can prevent similar incidents in the future.
Postmedia tried to talk to the dog’s owner, who appeared to be at home on Monday afternoon, but did not open the door.
Since 2000, there have been two notable deadly dog attacks in the Calgary area, both involving dog owners and their families. A newborn child was killed by the family husky in Airdrie in 2012 and a 50-year-old woman from the Langdon area was killed in 2018 while trying to protect a small child from the family dog.
– Archived by Stephanie Babych
mrodriguez@postmedia.com
Twitter: @michaelrdrguez
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