Victim asks dog’s owner to step forward
A Mission woman who was attacked by a dog in Langley on Tuesday night and her sister are pleading with the animal’s owner to come forward.
Shelby MacNeil, 45, had to have 85 staples put in her leg after the mauling on Tuesday evening.
Her sister, Kim Tamminga, said the attack has left the mother of two in pain and unable to work.
Tamminga, who is speaking for her sister because she is still in shock from the attack, said MacNeil was leaving a softball game in Langley around 7 p.m. at 29th Avenue and 272nd Street. She packed up her truck and just as she stepped out a large dog, that MacNeil thinks may be a mastiff, began attacking her leg, Tamminga said.
“She curled up into the fetal position while this dog was mauling her, trying to protect her face. The dog starting biting her on her hip and buttocks. She has bruises everywhere,” she said.
Tamminga said MacNeil was released from hospital Thursday night and is recovering at home. Her sister said she didn’t see the owner of the dog, but heard a whistle and the dog immediately stopped attacking and ran off.
Some Good Samaritans heard her sister screaming and came to help. A man used his belt to tie a tourniquet on her leg as they waited for emergency crews. Tamminga said they would like to meet the person who helped and return his belt.
They’re also calling on the dog’s owner to come forward because they’re terrified the dog might attack children in the neighbourhood.
“This dog had to have behaved aggressively before. Someone knows this dog, and as a mother, I am just so worried because a lot of families with young kids live around there,” said Tamminga.
She said her sister wants to make it clear she isn’t mad at the dog, but puts the blame on the animal’s owner.
“We really want the owner to come forward. We think owners should be held to task for the behaviour of animals in their care,” said Tamminga.
MacNeil doesn’t have extended medical benefits, so an Aldergrove mother has created a GoFundMe page to raise money for the woman’s medical expenses.
Langley RCMP is investigating.