A Sarnia woman is grieving the loss of her 12-year-old Shih Tzu, Gilly, after the dog was recently killed at Blackwell Dog Park.
Meghan Gendron said she returned from her honeymoon to learn the sad news about her beloved pet.
Gendron said her parents were taking care of her two dogs while she was away. Her father decided to take them to the dog park on May 12.
"She was sort of just minding her own business and another, larger dog, allegedly came and just attacked her," Gendron said. "The dog bit her shoulder first, from what my father said, and then it went for her throat."
Despite efforts to save Gilly, she died at the park.
"My understanding is that people blamed my father for taking Gilly into the larger section of that dog park, even though we had been previously there so many times and never had any issue whatsoever," she said.
Gendron also said their other pet was a large breed dog.
After the shocking incident, Gendron said people cleared the area, including the owner of the other involved dog. However, one person stayed behind to assist Gendron's father.
Gendron said her father is "traumatized" by the situation.
"He's trying to take it day by day. I know that it's something he's been reliving every day since it happened," she said. "He and I actually went to our vet (on Wednesday) to take Gilly in for cremation. He came with me and supported me in that. I know that was really important to him, I think for a closure perspective."
Although Gendron's father filed a statement with Sarnia police, she said they were told nothing could be done.
"Animal control is trying to do their best to research what they can find for the owner's name because, as you can see on the Facebook post (on the Blackwell Dog Park group), we have no information," she said.
Gendron said she is not planning to "go after" the owner of the other dog but she would like an apology and some initiative to prevent a similar incident from happening again.
"I would just like something to happen from an education or a training perspective for this other dog so it doesn't happen to anybody else," she said. "At the end of the day, the city told me that probably, the worst that could happen is a fine. This particular dog park is not owned by the city, it's privately owned so they can't restrict this person from going back to that dog park. For me, it's not about being punitive, it's just about doing the right thing and having enough respect for your neighbour to apologize for the actions of your dog."
The dog park, located on Blackwell Road, is owned by Waste Management. Sarnia News Today has reached out to the company for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
The City of Sarnia confirmed by-law enforcement officers are investigating the matter. Anyone with information can reach out to investigators via email at bylawenforcement@sarnia.ca.
"In general, a number of by-law infractions, such as off-leash infractions, involving pets do not apply to private property," read an email from the city. "There are, however, some infractions our By-law Enforcement team can enforce in relation to incidents on private property under the city’s Regulation of Dogs and Cats By-Law."
To be specific, the by-law's provision states, "No owner shall permit his or her dog to threaten, bite or attack any person. No owner shall permit his or her dog to bite or attack any domestic animal."
Those found in contravention of the by-law could face penalties under the Provincial Offences Act.
Meanwhile, Gendron said she will never take her other dog to Blackwell Dog Park again.