Alberta community held hostage in their homes after wild dogs attack

Some members living on a reserve east of Calgary say they’re being terrorized by a pack of dogs. Some of the canines are believed to be pets while others are strays.

The residents of the Siksika First Nation say they don’t leave their homes without arming themselves with some kind of weapon to protect them from the dogs on the loose.

On their own, the dogs don’t seem menacing, but as one scavenges for scraps around garbage bins, others join.

Now, their fears are intensified following a brutal attack last weekend.

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“I woke up to dogs barking,” Kendra Big Snake said. “They were jumping so high and going into the middle, I saw an arm go up and the arm came right back down and that’s when I started to hear…he started yelling for help.

“He started running. He got so far and one of those dogs leaped so high.

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“He got him on the back of the head and they stumbled and more dogs jumped on top of him,” Big Snake recalled.

“He was screaming and crying and was out of his mind. He must have been in so much shock,” she said. “He had bites on his forehead, blood coming down, and on his arms, gashes and on the back of his calf he had bites everywhere.”

The Siksika Band administration said it is working on a plan and hopes to develop the First Nation’s first-ever dog bylaw. The Band would like to hire an officer to enforce that bylaw.

In the meantime, Band representatives said they’ve hired security to patrol the area at peak times, particularly when the children are being dropped off the bus from school.