‘We jumped in and threw the dog off of her’: Neighbours save teen from Ontario dog attack

A teenage girl is lucky to be alive after neighbours rushed to her rescue when she was attacked by a dog in Oshawa, Ont.

Residents in the area say the girl was walking down the sidewalk when dog got loose from its chain and started biting her.

Global News has agreed to protect the identity of one of the people who helped for fear of retaliation. She said she and her father were sitting in their house when they heard something outside.

“We heard a really loud scream,” she said.

The Good Samaritan leapt into action, along with her father, to help save the teen.

“We see a pit bull on top of this young girl biting her, basically ripping her shoulder blade.”

Police say they responded to the incident on Agnes Street at around 7 p.m. Monday night. Three people were taken to hospital, the teenager was seriously injured. Neighbours said the dog also bit people that were trying to help.

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It’s not clear exactly why or how the attack began, but the resident says they didn’t think twice when they realized what was happening.

“We ended up jumping in really quickly and threw the dog off of her. And that’s when many other neighbours jumped in as well,” said the rescuer.

“The dog ended up breaking loose from the chain and the muzzle … It ended up attacking me, and lacerating my arm in two spots and fracturing my wrists,” said the rescuer.

Photos provided to Global News show several deep cuts on her arm. She is now in a cast and her mother says she will have to go to a fracture clinic as her arm was fractured as well. The mom was at work at the time and came home to find out her family was involved in the incident.

“I jumped in my car, went to the hospital … The girl in the ambulance, she’s in bad shape, my daughter is in bad shape. It was chaos when I got home,” she said.

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Eventually, bylaw officials and animal services were able to rein in the dog — after several people jumped in to hold the dog still.

The incident left the teenage girl with serious injuries. It’s not clear where she was visiting at the time, but neighbours say she didn’t live on the street where it happened.

Sgt. Joanne Bortoluss with Durham Police says there’s little information about why the attack happened or what kind of dog it was.

“The investigation will obviously take place into what led up to these events,” she said. “Where that continues is obviously up to the investigation by animal services. Charges could be applicable in this situation.”

The dog is currently being held at Oshawa’s Animal Services as bylaw enforcement looks into whether or not the owner should be held accountable for the incident.