VANCOUVER -- A Surrey woman who was attacked by three large dogs while trying to protect her own pet is calling for tougher laws.
Monika Piaseczna and her friend were in an off-leash area at Tynehead Regional Park on Friday with four small dogs. That’s when a large dog aggressively approached her little dog Malcolm.
It didn’t take long for things to turn terrifying.
"Two more massive pit bulls just came flying out of the bush and all three just pounced on this little dog,” said Monika’s friend, Jessica Shoemay.
Monika quickly lifted her small dog up over her head to protect it.
“She just grabbed his leash and pulled as the dog was snapping at him and that’s when they turned on her.”
With both the women screaming for help, they say the dog owners came over and pulled the dogs off.
“There’s just blood everywhere. It was just traumatic,” says Monika who was left with four deep puncture wounds to her upper thigh and buttock.
“The owners were just saying ‘Are you OK, are you OK?’ They’re holding these dogs by their collar and they’re just barking.”
One of the dog owners, when asked, did provide the friend with contact information.
But in the middle of the chaos, Monika’s mom’s frightened dog ran from the park.
“The next day, we found him (dead) on the side of the road because he was hit by a car trying to get home,” an emotional Monika told CTV News.
Monika says vicious dogs should be leashed and muzzled. She’s calling for tougher laws.
She worries that had a child or elderly person been attacked, the injuries would have been far more serious.
“Dogs like that are lethal weapons,” she says.
Monika says the incident left her terrified and she’s not sure when she will feel comfortable enough to walk at the park.
Metro Vancouver tells CTV News that it's investigating a Friday incident at Tynehead and is working with Surrey RCMP and animal control officers to determine appropriate follow-up actions.
