CALGARY – The family of a 12-year-old boy bitten inside his own home by an off-duty police dog said they had no idea a dangerous animal was living in their neighbourhood.
The service dog was with his handler around 6 p.m. Wednesday night. They were in their fenced backyard in the southwest community of Aspen Hills, when he reportedly broke out of the yard.
In a news release Thursday, CPS said the dog ran onto the street where there were three children playing.
One of the children, 12-year-old Ali Hassan, ran away from the dog and into his own home. Police said the dog chased him inside and bit him on the leg.
The handler, Will Glover, ran after the dog and child into the house where the boy’s father was trying to get the dog off. The handler ran inside and was able to help.
The boy was taken to hospital and treated for several puncture wounds. He was then released.
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His father, Mustafa Hassan, said that the boy is being monitored for any signs of infection. The family plans to seek psychological help for Ali.
“We don’t want him to be afraid of dogs, by any means, but that incident might affect him – all his life,” Hassan said.
At a news conference Thursday afternoon, Police Chief Roger Chaffin said the dog hit the gate so hard that he broke the latch.
Chaffin explained the yards are assessed on an annual basis to ensure they are safe and appropriate. This particular yard did not have any previous issues.
The handler of the dog has children of his own and has never had any incidents with his own family.
“That relationship with the handler is critically important to the kind of commands they get, to the direction they get in the street. So we minimize the use of force, you minimize the activity that occurs with that dog in an event,” Chaffin said. “Without that bond or that relationship you may actually get dogs that you can’t control.”
But Hassan said he was unaware that the service dog had been living next door. The family is considering taking legal action.
“This type of dog – I would consider risky and unsafe in the neighbourhood. He shouldn’t stay here, but unfortunately we didn’t know.”
No decision has been made on what will happen with the dog. CPS is planning on taking at least a month to allow the dog to calm down before they evaluate him.
In the meantime, the dog is being kept in a secure kennel and will not be returning to Hassan’s neighbourhood.
Police also disclosed the animal is a three-and-a-half year-old Belgian Malinois named Marco who has been one of their most successful dogs.
He has been with the force for about a year.
Marco is the handler’s first dog.
The Calgary Police Service is now investigating and ASIRT has also been notified.
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