Pack of dogs attack three people in motel parking lot

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This article was published 28/02/2020 (1665 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Three people were rushed to hospital early Saturday morning after a violent dog attack at the Capri Motel on Pembina Highway.

Winnipeg police said they were called to the scene of a fight at a motel parking lot at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday, but later determined the fight was actually an attack by a pack of dogs. Two men were taken to hospital with what police described as “severe, life-altering injuries.” A female victim was also taken to hospital with less serious injuries.

Police said the dogs appeared to be pitbull-mastiff crosses. Police spokesperson Const. Rob Carver said that description was released so the public could be on the lookout for a dog that may have still been at large as police worked to determine whether the attack involved four dogs or five.

By 3:30 p.m., police said all the dogs had been accounted for.

Carver said two adult dogs were found in nearby neighbourhoods by police and had to be put down by officers. Two more dogs were hit by a vehicle on Pembina Highway after the attack. One of those dogs, a puppy, was taken to a veterinarian for treatment.

Carver said the other dog struck by the vehicle was an adult. A brindle-coloured adult dog was found in the area at about 11 a.m. Saturday, he said.

Thirteen police units responded to the emergency call, along with the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service and Winnipeg Animal Services.

A motel employee who declined to be identified said he heard about the incident second-hand from a colleague who worked overnight. He said he was told the attack involved dogs that belonged to a couple who live at the motel.

One of the victims came to the motel’s front desk during the attack, said the employee.

“He was wounded pretty bad, especially in his forearms… And he was screaming pretty bad, asking for help. I don’t know (why) it was, but the dogs went pretty rogue and wild on him.”

Another tenant arrived in his car at some point during the attack, the employee said.

“And he let the guy go inside his car, just trying to protect him. And then they were waiting for 911 and other emergency services to show up, and finally, after about a while, the cops came in and so did the emergency services as well, and they took two of the people that stay here to the ER. One of them was the guy from one of our suites… and then the other person was not a tenant here, but he usually comes here to see one of his friends.”

A motel tenant, who didn’t give his name, said he witnessed part of the attack, which he said started inside a motel unit. 

“They shut the door and wouldn’t let (the dogs) out, and then they finally got out, and then all hell broke loose,” said the man.

Bloodstains could be seen smeared on the door to one of the motel’s units on Saturday afternoon, with spatters and small pools of blood scattered across the icy parking lot.

“The one part I remember was just screaming out in the parking lot here, and then everybody’s looking out, and one guy’s getting attacked by dogs, and then another guy comes out to help him,” said the man.

“It was a no-win situation, there was like four dogs, five dogs.”

No criminal charges have been laid in relation to the dog attack at this point, said police spokesman Carver.

“One of the things we would be looking at from an investigative standpoint is, whether or not severe and possibly life-threatening, life-altering injuries from these dogs would support charges,” he said. 

solomon.israel@freepress.mb.ca  

@sol_israel