It started out as a bright and sunny Saturday for Lindsay Niemand and her 11 month old golden retriever James.
Niemand and James were at the dog park, where she explained they can be found up to five times a week. There were many dogs there due to the nice weather. Niemand was joyful to see her beautiful boy running freely throughout the park as he so often does.
She noted he was playing with other dogs and the atmosphere was a happy one.
That’s when she saw a familiar face. It was that of a black corgi cross. Niemand knew this dog well and together with James they’ve now had three encounters.
“It was such a beautiful day - James was playing and having fun,” she remembers. “I saw the dog but he was on the other side of the park.Then the next thing I heard was squealing and the woman pulled her dog off of James and he came running back to me and we left immediately after.”
The first time the pair came in contact with the corgi, James was only a few months old.
“I actually had to pull the dog away from him,” she recalled. “The owner then appeared and said to methat’s when she knows it’s time to go home is when her dog does things like that - so you know it’s happened before.”
The second time was in the summer months while walking down Lakeshore. Both dogs were leashed but Niemand said the corgi made anattempt at James and thankfully her husband intervened.
Following the event at the dog park, Niemand didn’t notice any immediate damage to James. Later that night she began to notice he wasfavouring one leg. Upon closer examination his leg was swelling more and more by the minute.
He wouldn’t eat Saturday night straight through til Monday and we knew we needed to bring him to the vet,” said Niemand who added shewas thankful James was not hurt worse, with the vet stated his leg was inflamed due to infection.
“The fact of the matter is - multiple people have seen this dog and lady before, it’s not about the $300 it cost in vet bills - it’s the fact thatpeople with aggressive and confrontational dogs shouldn’t bring their dogs to the dog park,” said Niemand. “Imagine if my dog had havebeen a smaller dog - he could have died and this person could have been sued and no one wants that to happen. The repercussions of takingyour aggressive animal to the dog park could be far worse than if you had just simply taken him for a walk.”
Niemand wishes to send the message to all dog owners in Sylvan Lake to be responsible with their pets and know their behaviours.
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