A Surrey, B.C. resident says he tried to warn officials about two pit bulls in his neighbourhood shortly before an 11-year-old in the area was attacked by the same dogs.

Glen Pope says the attack on Sean Bajwa which took place earlier this month could have been prevented - but wasn't - when he called police and the B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Pope's account is raising questions about how reports of violent dogs are handled by police after two violent dog attacks on children in Surrey this month.

Bajwa needed more than 100 stitches and three hours of surgery to repair deep wounds to his head, legs and arms after he was attacked by two pit bulls.

Just two weeks later, eight-year-old Kumuljeet Singh Hans and his four-year-old sister Harmon were bitten by a vicious dog while on a neighbourhood walk.

Pope decided to call police after he saw two pit bulls circling around two children in a schoolyard.

"(The officer) asked (if) they (were) biting, and I said no, not at this time," he said. "She responded there is nothing we can do, and said 'you need to make a complaint to the SPCA.'"

But by the time Pope got through to the SPCA's automated system, the dogs had moved on and the kids didn't seem to be in danger, he said. He hung up the call and continued on his way.

About thirty minutes later, Bajwa was attacked outside of the school.

"Those were the same two dogs that I saw," Pope said. "I was angry, and frustrated."

Sgt. Roger Morrow of the Surrey RCMP said a call about a loose dog is not a police issue and is strictly a matter for the SPCA. But, he said, the tone of the call plays a role in how it is handled.

"If it's very casual or laissez-fair, in all likelihood, we're going to refer you to the SPCA," he said. "If you see imminent danger or someone's safety is in jeopardy, perhaps even your own, or a dog is actually attacking someone, please make the call to 911."

The SPCA says their response time can be slow, and advises callers to contact police in the case of an emergency.

Lawyer Paul Formby, who represents the Bajwa family, is launching a lawsuit against the owner of the dogs, Surrey RCMP and the Surrey SPCA.

He says Pope's initial call to the police should have been taken more seriously.

"(Pope's) first intuition was these were pit bulls, these were dangerous. They appear(ed) to be menacing this lady and two children," said Formby. "Thirty minutes later those same dogs on the same school ground attacked Sean Bajwa."

With a report from CTV British Columbia's John Fenton