The mother of an eight-year-old Lethbridge boy who was attacked by a pit bull in a school yard praises the actions of a 17-year-old summer camp counselor who could have saved the boy’s life.
On Wednesday, two pit bulls were loose on a playground when one pointed at the boy, biting him in the face, ear and knee before the teen intervened, according to Lethbridge police.
The girl, employed by the YWCA, was also bitten by the dog while trying to protect the child.
“She acted like a mother,” said Sayma Refat, whose son Saihan has been discharged from the hospital.
“This girl, she’s not our relative, she’s not our family, but she protected my son.”
YWCA “proud and grateful” for the actions of employees
Refat said the girl was an “angel” and cried at the thought of what would have happened if the counselor had not intervened.
The staff member was taken to hospital and treated for minor injuries.
“We are proud and grateful for the prompt response from our staff yesterday,” said Jill Young, general manager of the Lethbridge YWCA.
The attack took place Wednesday at noon, at the end of the morning session of the YWCA day camp.
Refat says she was expecting her child around noon when she and other parents learned that a child had been attacked by a dog in the courtyard of Dr. Gerald B. Probe.
“He’s traumatized”
Twenty minutes later, he received a call saying it was Saihan who had been injured.
The boy’s father rushed to the hospital to be by his side. Saihan needed stitches for sores on his face.
“He’s traumatized,” Refat said. “I’m traumatized.”
Back at school, one of the dogs was found with his owner.
The other was discovered in a nearby backyard.
“After an hour of searching the area, officers located the two dogs,” according to a statement from Animal Community Services.
Mother wants to meet an ‘angel’
The Lethbridge agency has confiscated the two dogs pending their investigation.
Refat says he wants a thorough investigation so this doesn’t happen to another child, but he doesn’t want to see euthanasia on any of the dogs.
“All dog owners should be responsible, they should have properly trained their dog,” Refat said. “They should be monitoring all the time.”
As for her son’s angel, “I’ll try to get to know her.”
This is the second time in the last six weeks that pit bulls have been confiscated in southern Alberta after attacks on people.
On June 5, Betty Ann Williams, 86, was fatally mutilated by three dogs in a back alley while gardening in northwestern Calgary.
Calgary City Council filed an application with the Queen’s Bank of Alberta Court to order the euthanasia of the three dogs.
Authorities believe the dogs are a mixture of American pit bull terrier, a mixture of American Staffordshire and an American pit bull.