Hunt on for two dogs and owner after woman mauled in terrifying attack

Article content

The victim of the city’s latest dog attack is recovering from serious injuries as cops search for the owner of the two canines that mauled her in Rexdale on Wednesday.

Article content

Toronto Police say officers responded to an animal complaint in the area of Martin Grove Rd. and John Garland Blvd. around 8:40 p.m.

Article content

A woman was at a bus stop when two dogs on the loose attacked her.

“While I was there, I heard a growl behind me, so then I turned my head, and I saw two dogs behind me,” the attack victim, Anita Brown, told CP24. “I don’t know where they came from. When I looked, there was nobody with them.”

With bandages on her face and right bicep, and her broken right forearm in a cast, she explained that she tried to defend herself with a nearby shopping cart but the dogs dragged her to the ground.

“One jumped on my chest and down I go. And then one was on my arm biting and the other one was at my head,” Brown said, recounting her terrifying ordeal.

Article content

Article content

Brown managed to escape the dogs by jumping into a passerby’s vehicle.

She was taken to hospital and treated for serious, life-altering injuries.

A witness reported seeing the dogs attempt to attack three other people.

The dogs are described as black and white with large builds, possibly pit bull terriers.

Police said they are concerned for public safety.

The handler of the dogs is described as a man in his 20s, with a dark moustache and beard. He was wearing a black hooded vest, green sweater, beige or white pants, hiking shoes or boots, and a black toque.

Article content

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 416-808-2300 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

The City of Toronto released statistics last summer showing there was a 39% increase in the number of dog attacks and a 19% jump in the number of altercations involving dogs and other animals in 2022.

Numerous vicious dog attacks in the GTA have made headlines in recent months.

In November 2023, a woman was attacked by two off-leash dogs in the city’s east end and part of her calf was ripped off.

Also in November 2023, an Air Canada pilot needed 14 stitches after being attacked by a dog in an Etobicoke hotel parking lot.

Again, in November 2023, a 13-year-old boy in Mississauga was attacked and the owner of the dog was charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm.

Article content

In August 2023, an East York woman was mauled by two dogs on Mortimer Ave. and suffered life-altering injuries to her ear, shoulder and calf after being dragged along the sidewalk.

In July 2023, a Newmarket dog owner was charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a nine-year-old girl was mauled by three dogs.

In June 2023, a six-year-old girl suffered serious injuries when she was in a Scarborough park when she was attacked by a dog that bit her in the back and shook her.

Also in June 2023, police shot and killed a dog in Burlington after it attacked three people, one of whom later died in hospital.

[email protected]

Article content