Owners say they’ll give up dog who attacked Ming Jiang

Ming Jiang, the 72-year-old who was viciously attacked by a neighbour’s dog in the Cannery Park area of St. Davids on June 17, has had an opportunity to meet and thank the man who helped save her.

And she may not have to worry about walking in her neighbourhood anymore, as the owners have said they will be giving the dog back to the rescue organization they got it from.

When Louis Hayes read about Jiang in The Local last week, he reached out to add to her story.

He was the man in the black car who stopped to help, and lives on Angela Crescent, around the bend from the house where the attack occurred.

Without Hayes, who distracted the dog long enough for Jiang to escape, and her friend and neighbour Esther Marcos, a retired nurse who came to her aid until paramedics arrived, the outcome could have been much worse. In addition to diverting the attention of the dog, Hayes also called Ken Reid, the town’s canine control officer, who arrived along with the police and an agent from the humane society.

Jiang had gone to the house of her neighbour, Linda Kenny, and knocked on the door, after her husband had done a bit of work in the neighbour’s backyard to fix a drainage problem that was affecting the Jiangs — their yards back onto each other’s. She wanted to let Kenny know he was finished his work. Jiang had asked that the Kenny’s aggressive dog be kept in the house while her husband was in the Kennys’ yard, and she was there to say it was okay to let the dog out again.

Instead, when the front door opened, the dog sprung at her, knocking her down and sinking his teeth into her upper arm.

Jiang, a tiny woman, was screaming for help on the neighbour’s porch, and Hayes, driving by, stopped, got out and approached the porch to help her.

The dog, distracted, took after Hayes, and Jiang wasn’t aware of what had happened to him after that.

But he gave her the time she needed to get away, screaming, and her friend Esther, who had been working in her backyard, heard her and ran to her aid.

Esther, now retired from her job as a charge nurse at an Oakville hospital, is accustomed to the sight of blood, and knew what to do. “There was so much blood,” she says, describing a section of Jiang’s left arm where about six inches of skin was just hanging down. “It was really bad, just gushing blood.”

Both Esther’s husband Roger and another neighbour on the street called 911, Esther applying pressure to Jiang’s arm until paramedics arrived.

Jiang has several stitches under her arm, on one hand, and one leg. But although the injuries will heal, she says she will always be nervous when she is out walking and hears the dog barking.

However, Kenny says they will give their dog Rider back to the rescue organization they got him from in January.

He is about two years old, she says, and is the fourth rottweiller they’ve had. They’ve never had a problem with any of their dogs, and this was just an “unfortunate accident.”

When Hayes talks about the day Jiang was attacked, he says the owners were unable to control their dog, and Jiang was screaming and crying “help me, help me.”

It looked as if the dog was trying to rip her arm off, he says.

“I ran over to them and was going to grab the dog by the collar. It let the woman’s arm go and lunged at me. As she tried to move away, it grabbed her by the leg. I approached again and this time the dog let her go and came after me. It chased me down the street, snarling and barking and crouching to lunge at me several times. I was doing a crazy dance to dodge the mad dog as it seemed to be trying to decide whether to go for the arm, the leg or the throat. Finally, when I was four or five houses down the street, the dog responded to the owners’ calls and retreated home, where they locked it in the house.”

By then, Hayes, says, Jiang had disappeared and he went home, badly shaken, and called the town’s canine control officer.

Hayes says he was hoping, for the safety of the children on the street, the owners would do the right thing and get rid of the dog.

Reid, who has been the town’s canine control officer for more than 20 years, says his job is often one of mediation, trying to do what’s best for all involved.

In this case, all he could do was ensure the dog was no longer at large. The owners have been fined by the town, and the police and humane society have both been involved, as has the public health department, Reid says, checking to see that the dog was vaccinated. The owners were also informed by police that Jiang can initiate a civil suit for damages. 

John Greer, the executive director of the Niagara Humane Society, says the owners weren’t willing to give the dog to the humane society agent, but told him they would consider returning it to the rescue organization.

They have been ordered to keep it muzzled outside on the street, and the dog has to be secured and under control of the owners at all times, Greer says, but other than that there isn’t anything the humane society can do either. It relies on members of the public to report any more problems, including if the dog is seen outside unmuzzled, which can draw an expensive fine.

In addition to a civil suit, a judge can order the dog be removed, but the humane society cannot take it from the owners, says Greer.

Monday, Kenny told The Local that Rider is “a sweet little boy” who has “some quirks with strangers.”

They have had other rescues, are experienced with large dogs, and this is the first time they’ve had any issue with any of them. When she answered the front door to Jiang, he just snuck out, she says.

She’s annoyed that she and her husband are being portrayed as irresponsible dog owners, which they’re not, she says, and they are doing what is right for their neighbours by giving him up.

They will likely get another dog, “but we won’t get another big dog. We’re getting older ourselves.”

And she may not have to worry about walking in her neighbourhood anymore, as the owners have said they will be giving the dog back to the rescue organization they got it from.

When Louis Hayes read about Jiang in The Local last week, he reached out to add to her story.

He was the man in the black car who stopped to help, and lives on Angela Crescent, around the bend from the house where the attack occurred.

Without Hayes, who distracted the dog long enough for Jiang to escape, and her friend and neighbour Esther Marcos, a retired nurse who came to her aid until paramedics arrived, the outcome could have been much worse. In addition to diverting the attention of the dog, Hayes also called Ken Reid, the town’s canine control officer, who arrived along with the police and an agent from the humane society.

Jiang had gone to the house of her neighbour, Linda Kenny, and knocked on the door, after her husband had done a bit of work in the neighbour’s backyard to fix a drainage problem that was affecting the Jiangs — their yards back onto each other’s. She wanted to let Kenny know he was finished his work. Jiang had asked that the Kenny’s aggressive dog be kept in the house while her husband was in the Kennys’ yard, and she was there to say it was okay to let the dog out again.

Instead, when the front door opened, the dog sprung at her, knocking her down and sinking his teeth into her upper arm.

Jiang, a tiny woman, was screaming for help on the neighbour’s porch, and Hayes, driving by, stopped, got out and approached the porch to help her.

The dog, distracted, took after Hayes, and Jiang wasn’t aware of what had happened to him after that.

But he gave her the time she needed to get away, screaming, and her friend Esther, who had been working in her backyard, heard her and ran to her aid.

Esther, now retired from her job as a charge nurse at an Oakville hospital, is accustomed to the sight of blood, and knew what to do. “There was so much blood,” she says, describing a section of Jiang’s left arm where about six inches of skin was just hanging down. “It was really bad, just gushing blood.”

Both Esther’s husband Roger and another neighbour on the street called 911, Esther applying pressure to Jiang’s arm until paramedics arrived.

Jiang has several stitches under her arm, on one hand, and one leg. But although the injuries will heal, she says she will always be nervous when she is out walking and hears the dog barking.

However, Kenny says they will give their dog Rider back to the rescue organization they got him from in January.

He is about two years old, she says, and is the fourth rottweiller they’ve had. They’ve never had a problem with any of their dogs, and this was just an “unfortunate accident.”

When Hayes talks about the day Jiang was attacked, he says the owners were unable to control their dog, and Jiang was screaming and crying “help me, help me.”

It looked as if the dog was trying to rip her arm off, he says.

“I ran over to them and was going to grab the dog by the collar. It let the woman’s arm go and lunged at me. As she tried to move away, it grabbed her by the leg. I approached again and this time the dog let her go and came after me. It chased me down the street, snarling and barking and crouching to lunge at me several times. I was doing a crazy dance to dodge the mad dog as it seemed to be trying to decide whether to go for the arm, the leg or the throat. Finally, when I was four or five houses down the street, the dog responded to the owners’ calls and retreated home, where they locked it in the house.”

By then, Hayes, says, Jiang had disappeared and he went home, badly shaken, and called the town’s canine control officer.

Hayes says he was hoping, for the safety of the children on the street, the owners would do the right thing and get rid of the dog.

Reid, who has been the town’s canine control officer for more than 20 years, says his job is often one of mediation, trying to do what’s best for all involved.

In this case, all he could do was ensure the dog was no longer at large. The owners have been fined by the town, and the police and humane society have both been involved, as has the public health department, Reid says, checking to see that the dog was vaccinated. The owners were also informed by police that Jiang can initiate a civil suit for damages. 

John Greer, the executive director of the Niagara Humane Society, says the owners weren’t willing to give the dog to the humane society agent, but told him they would consider returning it to the rescue organization.

They have been ordered to keep it muzzled outside on the street, and the dog has to be secured and under control of the owners at all times, Greer says, but other than that there isn’t anything the humane society can do either. It relies on members of the public to report any more problems, including if the dog is seen outside unmuzzled, which can draw an expensive fine.

In addition to a civil suit, a judge can order the dog be removed, but the humane society cannot take it from the owners, says Greer.

Monday, Kenny told The Local that Rider is “a sweet little boy” who has “some quirks with strangers.”

They have had other rescues, are experienced with large dogs, and this is the first time they’ve had any issue with any of them. When she answered the front door to Jiang, he just snuck out, she says.

She’s annoyed that she and her husband are being portrayed as irresponsible dog owners, which they’re not, she says, and they are doing what is right for their neighbours by giving him up.

They will likely get another dog, “but we won’t get another big dog. We’re getting older ourselves.”

Ming Jiang, the 72-year-old who was viciously attacked by a neighbour’s dog in the Cannery Park area of St. Davids on June 17, has had an opportunity to meet and thank the man who helped save her.

And she may not have to worry about walking in her neighbourhood anymore, as the owners have said they will be giving the dog back to the rescue organization they got it from.

When Louis Hayes read about Jiang in The Local last week, he reached out to add to her story.

He was the man in the black car who stopped to help, and lives on Angela Crescent, around the bend from the house where the attack occurred.

Without Hayes, who distracted the dog long enough for Jiang to escape, and her friend and neighbour Esther Marcos, a retired nurse who came to her aid until paramedics arrived, the outcome could have been much worse. In addition to diverting the attention of the dog, Hayes also called Ken Reid, the town’s canine control officer, who arrived along with the police and an agent from the humane society.

Jiang had gone to the house of her neighbour, Linda Kenny, and knocked on the door, after her husband had done a bit of work in the neighbour’s backyard to fix a drainage problem that was affecting the Jiangs — their yards back onto each other’s. She wanted to let Kenny know he was finished his work. Jiang had asked that the Kenny’s aggressive dog be kept in the house while her husband was in the Kennys’ yard, and she was there to say it was okay to let the dog out again.

Instead, when the front door opened, the dog sprung at her, knocking her down and sinking his teeth into her upper arm.

Jiang, a tiny woman, was screaming for help on the neighbour’s porch, and Hayes, driving by, stopped, got out and approached the porch to help her.

The dog, distracted, took after Hayes, and Jiang wasn’t aware of what had happened to him after that.

But he gave her the time she needed to get away, screaming, and her friend Esther, who had been working in her backyard, heard her and ran to her aid.

Esther, now retired from her job as a charge nurse at an Oakville hospital, is accustomed to the sight of blood, and knew what to do. “There was so much blood,” she says, describing a section of Jiang’s left arm where about six inches of skin was just hanging down. “It was really bad, just gushing blood.”

Both Esther’s husband Roger and another neighbour on the street called 911, Esther applying pressure to Jiang’s arm until paramedics arrived.

Jiang has several stitches under her arm, on one hand, and one leg. But although the injuries will heal, she says she will always be nervous when she is out walking and hears the dog barking.

However, Kenny says they will give their dog Rider back to the rescue organization they got him from in January.

He is about two years old, she says, and is the fourth rottweiller they’ve had. They’ve never had a problem with any of their dogs, and this was just an “unfortunate accident.”

When Hayes talks about the day Jiang was attacked, he says the owners were unable to control their dog, and Jiang was screaming and crying “help me, help me.”

It looked as if the dog was trying to rip her arm off, he says.

“I ran over to them and was going to grab the dog by the collar. It let the woman’s arm go and lunged at me. As she tried to move away, it grabbed her by the leg. I approached again and this time the dog let her go and came after me. It chased me down the street, snarling and barking and crouching to lunge at me several times. I was doing a crazy dance to dodge the mad dog as it seemed to be trying to decide whether to go for the arm, the leg or the throat. Finally, when I was four or five houses down the street, the dog responded to the owners’ calls and retreated home, where they locked it in the house.”

By then, Hayes, says, Jiang had disappeared and he went home, badly shaken, and called the town’s canine control officer.

Hayes says he was hoping, for the safety of the children on the street, the owners would do the right thing and get rid of the dog.

Reid, who has been the town’s canine control officer for more than 20 years, says his job is often one of mediation, trying to do what’s best for all involved.

In this case, all he could do was ensure the dog was no longer at large. The owners have been fined by the town, and the police and humane society have both been involved, as has the public health department, Reid says, checking to see that the dog was vaccinated. The owners were also informed by police that Jiang can initiate a civil suit for damages. 

John Greer, the executive director of the Niagara Humane Society, says the owners weren’t willing to give the dog to the humane society agent, but told him they would consider returning it to the rescue organization.

They have been ordered to keep it muzzled outside on the street, and the dog has to be secured and under control of the owners at all times, Greer says, but other than that there isn’t anything the humane society can do either. It relies on members of the public to report any more problems, including if the dog is seen outside unmuzzled, which can draw an expensive fine.

In addition to a civil suit, a judge can order the dog be removed, but the humane society cannot take it from the owners, says Greer.

Monday, Kenny told The Local that Rider is “a sweet little boy” who has “some quirks with strangers.”

They have had other rescues, are experienced with large dogs, and this is the first time they’ve had any issue with any of them. When she answered the front door to Jiang, he just snuck out, she says.

She’s annoyed that she and her husband are being portrayed as irresponsible dog owners, which they’re not, she says, and they are doing what is right for their neighbours by giving him up.

They will likely get another dog, “but we won’t get another big dog. We’re getting older ourselves.”