A Calgary woman is making a plea to dog owners after an incident at southwest Calgary’s Edworthy Park last month.
On Oct. 19, Cydney Galbraith says she was hiking up a hill in the park with her parents when, out of nowhere, a dog came charging at her and struck her from the side.
The dog hit Galbraith around her left kneecap, sending her to ground, wincing in pain, she told Global News.
“Just that, ‘Oh no’ moment, like something’s not in place, something’s not right,” Galbraith said.
“I fell to the ground and I was screaming in pain.”
As she lay in the grass, two people ran over to help her and watched as the owner of the dog scooped up his pet, hopped in his car and left the park.
“He did see and he called his dog and they saw him get in his car and drive away and unfortunately, we didn’t get his plate number,” Galbraith said.
Galbraith was taken to the hospital and later found out her knee had broken in several different areas and she would require immediate surgery.
While having a broken leg is a burden, it wasn’t the most disappointing thing on Galbraith’s mind. In just two days, she was scheduled to travel to Israel on a trip that cost her roughly $8,000 to prepare for, and she was forced to cancel it.
“The sad thing is, is I didn’t have trip cancellation insurance so it’s been a huge disappointment to me to have to miss and surrender my trip.”
Though there are many things for Galbraith to be upset about, she’s keeping her head high and just wants an apology from the owner.
“I forgive the man. I forgive the dog. It’s like, ‘Hey, do the obvious thing and make sure the person’s OK and you know, apologize.'”
The City of Calgary Bylaw Services say that due to the nature of the incident and the aggressive action of the dog, the owner would face a $300 fine if caught.
They add this is still an open investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact 311.