Woman wants changes after dog mauled in off-leash park

A Winnipeg woman is hoping changes will come to city dog parks following a tragic incident earlier this month.

Elene Perron was at Bonnycastle Park on May 8 with her dog Poppy. She said she lost track of her dog briefly, before she heard a squealing sound, and then found her dog in the jaws of a much larger dog.

Poppy was shaken vigorously, but was soon freed. Another woman drove the two to a veterinarian, who told them Poppy was gravely injured and likely wouldn’t survive surgery.

Perron made the difficult decision to have Poppy put down.

“Unfortunately, I don’t get to hold my dog anymore,” she said.

Perron wants to see changes to dog parks in the city to hopefully prevent a similar incident in the future.

“I would like to see the city put in place either a dog park that is strictly for dogs under 30 pounds, or to have times broken down so they can have safe spaces to play,” she said. “The fact is, all dogs can have moments of aggression, but small dogs are at a disadvantage due to their size.”

The city has an area specific for small dogs at Sir Wilfred Laurier Park, as well as a puppy pen at Maple Grove Park.

However, a member of a group for small dogs in Winnipeg said the facilities fall short of what the community needs.

“The biggest trouble is that when you’re talking about small dogs, you’re talking about a group that, at times, are unfortunately intimidated by larger pups,” said Jon Waldman with Weenie and Friends. “So there isn’t an opportunity for us to be comfortable in off-leash environments.”

Waldman said the group regularly rents out spaces for their small dogs to play in, but would like to see the city divide up more dog parks by size.

CTV News Winnipeg reached out to the city about the incident, who confirmed they are investigating the incident, but could not provide specifics.

According to the responsible pet ownership bylaw, dogs which harm others could be declared dangerous and would be required to go outside with a muzzle on, and be kept in secure locations.