A 45-year-old woman was hospitalized following an assault by three dogs near a garage in Montreal’s Saint-Leonard borough on Wednesday morning. Montreal police spokesperson Raphaël Bergeron disclosed that a 911 call reporting an unconscious woman on du Creusot Street was received around 9:30 a.m.
According to Bergeron, as the woman approached a mechanic’s garage, the dogs emerged from a door that was either already open or had just been opened and launched the attack. Kudrus Ljika, employed at a nearby garage, recounted that he and a colleague rushed outside upon hearing screams to investigate the commotion.
Describing the chaotic scene, Ljika mentioned that the dogs were aggressively targeting the woman, who was attempting to seek refuge inside a locked vehicle. He managed to fend off one of the dogs with a shovel before securing the woman in the car’s front seat, as the dogs continued to roam until the police arrived.
Bergeron reported that the victim, although conscious when transported to the hospital, was in critical condition. Subsequent updates from the police indicated that despite her severe injuries, the woman’s life was not in immediate danger.
Another woman, aged 42, who may have been the dogs’ owner, intervened to separate two of the fighting animals while the third dog retreated back into the business premises after the incident. Ljika described the dogs as notably large and aggressive, emphasizing the difficulty faced by the intervening woman due to their size.
Police, deeming the dogs a threat to public safety, including the victim still on the ground, opted to euthanize two of the animals. Bergeron clarified that permission was not required from the 42-year-old woman, who sustained bites on her arms during the incident, to put down the dogs.
Although the specific breed of the dogs involved remains unconfirmed, Bergeron affirmed they were not pit bulls. Rosie Pellegrino, the proprietor of a dog grooming establishment on du Creusot Street, expressed the community’s shock over the event and stressed the importance of responsible dog ownership practices, such as leash control.
Meanwhile, Public Security Minister Ian Lafrenière addressed the situation in Quebec City, urging patience as authorities investigate the incident and provide accurate details. Montreal had implemented a registry for potentially dangerous dogs in 2018, but the dogs implicated in the Saint-Léonard attack were not listed in this registry, according to city officials.