‘I could’ve bled out’: Toronto dog bite victim speaks out following recent attacks

Brooke Ember remembers that traumatic day all too clearly. The 28-year-old, who works in pharmaceutical home delivery, says she was attacked by a dog in Scarborough while on the job on June 28th. She has undergone four surgeries since the incident.

Ember says when she opened her car door at a patient’s house, she noticed a dog from the upstairs tenant coming down the hallway.

The dog “opened the door with its head, jumped me and dragged me around.”

Ember says the dog latched onto her arm. As she lay on the ground bleeding, she called 911 and claims she was put on hold for 17 minutes.

She says no one, including the owner of the 130-pound Neapolitan mastiff, came to help.

“(Paramedics) also told me when they got there if it was an inch lower, it would’ve hit my major artery and I could’ve bled out within 10 minutes.”

“It’s kind of scary to put into perspective that my 911 phone call was longer than that.”

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Ember says she expected the police to come, but they never showed up. According to a spokesperson for Toronto police, officers, “wouldn’t normally attend a dog bite call. Animal Services is the resource who will attend when this occurs.”

Toronto Animal Services tells Global News it is unable to release further details as the investigation remains active.”Police will however attend a dog bite call, if the dog is used as a weapon to commit an assault,” TPS said.

While dog owner Bruce Teves has since been charged with criminal negligence, Ember’s mother Melissa is calling for emergency services to respond to dog bite calls with more urgency.

“You should be able to call 911 and expect some to come back. It’s not TV, where everybody comes and assesses the situation and they help you,” her mother said.

But Ember is just one victim of several to have been a victim of dog attacks in recent months. The very same day she was attacked,  a woman and a child were walking near Midland and Lawrence avenues when they too were mauled by two guard dogs that had escaped from a nearby business.

Both were sent to hospital with serious injuries. Just this past Sunday, a mother of two was brutally wounded after being attacked and dragged by two pitbulls. The owner of the dogs has also been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm.

Personal injury lawyer Nainesh Kotak says the charge is “very serious” and “can carry jail time of up to 10 years.”

There are currently a number of regulations in place municipally under the Animals Bylaw and provincially under the Dog Owner’s Liability Act (DOLA). DOLA bans the ownership of pure-bred pitbulls and holds dog owners liable for damages resulting from a bite or attack on a person or a domestic animal.

When asked about whether current laws surrounding pet ownership need to be reformed, Kotak says, “I’m not sure if it’s the fault of legislation. I think enforcement is an issue,” adding city by-law needs to do better when it comes to following up and addressing complaints.

A spokesperson with Toronto Animal Services tells Global News the city will be launching a campaign next week to educate residents on the rules of owning a dog and the importance of keeping them on a leash.