In Mymoń (Podkarpackie Voivodeship), several dogs attacked and severely bit a small dog with which an 11-year-old girl was walking. The animals were supposed to get out of the property by squeezing under the net. The child was not injured. The police are investigating the case.
The incident took place on November 8 after 3 p.m. in Mymoń near Besko in Podkarpacie. 11-year-old Hania was walking with her pet – Artemon. At one point, several dogs ran out of one of the properties.
– I received a phone call from my daughter. Hania was terrified, she couldn’t say what happened or where she was. A terrifying cry of “daddy, daddy” was heard. I thought maybe she had been hit by a car and was lying in a ditch somewhere and needed help. I just put on flip-flops, didn’t even close the door to the house and went to look for my daughter – says Mr. Tomasz, Hania’s father.
He quickly found his daughter. It turned out that the child and Artemon were attacked by several dogs. The girl tried to chase them away and save her pet by taking it in her arms, but she was unable to hold it. So she pulled on the leash to get Artemon as far away from the attacking dogs as possible. Everything – according to Hania’s father – was supposed to last about 20 minutes.
“They weren’t afraid of the car or the sound of the horn. They were very aggressive.”
– The dogs probably got out of the property by squeezing under the fence. I tried to disperse them somehow, but they were not afraid of the car or the sound of the horn. They were very aggressive, Hania screamed and was terrified – the man tells us.
He recorded part of the incident with his phone camera. In the recording, which lasts less than 30 seconds, you can hear dogs barking, a child squealing and the nervous voice of a man trying to chase the dogs away.
Once they managed to get into the car, they went straight to the vet. In the meantime, Mr. Tomasz notified the Sanok police about the incident by phone.
The dog was taken to a veterinarian Private archive
The police are investigating the case
A vet took care of Artemon, who was severely bitten. When the animal was recovering in the clinic, Mr. Tomasz – in accordance with the instructions of the policeman who received the telephone report – went to the police headquarters in Sanok to personally report the incident. He also provided the officers with photos and footage he recorded during the incident.
On November 8, the Sanok police initiated proceedings in this case under Article 77 par. 2 of the Code of Petty Offenses, which concerns “failure to exercise caution when keeping an animal”.
§ 2. Whoever commits the act specified in § 1 while keeping an animal whose behavior poses a danger to human life or health, shall be subject to the penalty of restriction of liberty, a fine or a reprimand.
According to Anna Oleniacz from the Sanok police in an interview with the tvn24.pl portal, the situation of the owner and his dogs is known to local police, but information that the animals are not properly secured only reaches the officers through word of mouth. – There were no official reports, so there were no interventions – a press officer of the Sanok police tells us.
The owner is obliged to secure the animals
The day after the incident – November 9 – Mr. Tomasz notified the District Veterinary Station in Sanok about what had happened. – I heard that the owner has five dogs, all of them have been registered, vaccinated and nothing can be done because they have not bitten humans – says our interlocutor. He also reported the matter to the Commune Office in Besko.
As he claims, this is not the first time a dangerous situation has occurred. The dogs – as he reports – are supposed to cross the fence and run around the village unattended. – These dogs are not properly secured. They get out of the property, they are aggressive, they bark constantly, people are afraid to move around the village. It is not normal. Someone should intervene there and react before a tragedy occurs, he emphasizes.
Oleniacz tells us that a district police officer will be sent to the site on Monday. It also reminds that it is the responsibility of animal owners to properly protect them.
The dog was taken to a veterinarian Private archive
Main photo source: Private archive