The family of a four-year-old boy who was viciously attacked by two dogs earlier this week has made it clear they hold no grudge against the dogs’ owners.
In fact, they’re family friends and John O’Neil, the little boy who was bitten, had played with the two German Shepherds before the incident.
Troy Yeaman, John’s uncle, said the family is not angry with the owners.
“They’re not upset with them. They don’t necessarily want to see anything happen to these people. They have been friends of the family for a long time. There’s a huge amount of grace and forgiveness there with this couple and towards this family,” Yeaman said. “The dogs’ owners, they are pretty upset. It’s a hard thing to deal with. Little John has played with these dogs before. Who knows why dogs do what they do. It’s an unfortunate accident.”
The attack happened Tuesday afternoon in the northeast Calgary community of Castleridge. The little boy was in the backyard of a home when two German Shepherds mauled him. He suffered injuries to his entire body including punctures, tears and bites.
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Yeaman said the parents of the little boy did what most parents do; just let their son go out and play.
“They are amazing parents. They didn’t do anything wrong. Their little boy was just being a little boy. He asked to go out and play and that’s what they did.”
“No one could foresee what was going to happen. It happened and now here’s a family that is very thankful their son is alive and they have the opportunity to spend another day with him,” Yeaman said.
John and Wanda, the parents of the boy attacked, live in Three Hills but are now staying in Calgary to be by John’s side.
The family said John spent more than seven-and-a-half hours in surgery and had over 100 bite wounds to his body, most of them on his back and neck.
“He’s had some skin grafting, which has helped with his two arms and one leg that had substantial damage done to it,” Yeaman said. “They are waiting to find out if that grafting has held and are keeping an eye out for infections.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the four-year-old. Wanda’s sister is looking after their other younger son, Wyatt, in the meantime.
“Any support will alleviate the daily stress of maintaining their home and essentials while they keep vigil until his condition changes,” the post on the GoFundMe page explained.
“John is doing really good. He has been moved to his own room now at the hospital. He had breathing tubes taken out and he’s eating a little bit of food and watching his favourite cartoons,” Yeaman said. “He’s going to have some wounds and some scarring for a little while but I think it’s going to draw them closer together as a family and just make them stronger.”
READ MORE: Fundraising starts for Calgary boy, 4, facing lengthy recovery after dog attack
The family said they’re extremely grateful for all the support they’ve received during this difficult time.
“His parents are doing amazingly well. They are an amazing couple. They lack sleep right now just because they want to spend as much time with little John as they can, but their spirits are really good and they are really thankful to everybody who has surrounded them and encouraged them,” Yeaman said.
Ownership of both German Shepherds, a male and female, was given to Calgary Community Standards, which is leading the investigation.
The animals are being held pending a hearing which will determine if they are vicious and should be euthanized, following an 11-day quarantine period.
According to the City of Calgary, two tickets have been issued against the owner of the dogs under the Responsible Pet Ownership bylaw. The maximum fine is $10,000.
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