'Horrifying' dog attack in Toronto leaves woman with serious injuries, owner arrested

An East York woman was seriously injured after being mauled by a dog near her home over the weekend and the animal’s owner is now facing criminal charges in connection with the incident.

It happened at around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday on Mortimer Avenue, a few blocks east of Greenwood Avenue.

The victim, who CP24 is only identifying as Cara, said that she was out for a stroll with a friend when they encountered a medium-sized, “pitbull-mix” dog without a leash in front of a low-rise apartment building.

Worried that the animal would run into the street and get hit and equally concerned for their own safety, Cara said that she and her friend both stopped in their tracks and didn’t get any closer to the dog.

She said at that point a woman with a Black or dark-coloured dog on a leash came out of the building.

Cara said that she and her friend began to slowly walk away across Mortimer when the second leashed dog began “lunging and growingly aggressively” at them, which “triggered the off leash dog to start attacking (her).”

She said that the loose dog bit her from behind and then knocked her down and pulled her to the ground before biting her several more times.

Cara said she somehow managed to get back on her feet and starting trying to run away while yelling for help.

The off-leash dog, meanwhile, continued to bite her as she fled, she said.

A passerby ended up pulling over to help Cara.

She said by that point she was “covered in blood” and “literally holding the back of (her) calf muscle.”

Cara was able to get into the vehicle and the driver rushed over to Michael Garron Hospital, where she said that she received several staples and got stiches in her head, neck, back, and leg.

Now on crutches and barely able to get around, Cara told CP24.com that she expects to have a long recovery that will likely include surgery.

“It was honestly just horrifying. … It was very, very traumatic,” she shared.

“I just feel really grateful that I’ve survived this and I want it to not happen again to anyone else.”

NEIGHBOUR WITNESSED ATTACK

Meaghan Duggan lives just across the street from where the attack happened.

She told CP24.com that she was getting ready for bed on Sunday evening when she heard loud, “blood-curdling screams” and ran over to a window to see an “out of control” tan-coloured dog biting, chasing, and wrestling a woman to the ground.

“I’ll never forget it,” she told CP24.com on Wednesday afternoon.

“The owner had zero control of their dog.”

Duggan said everything happened so quickly and before she knew it, a driver had pulled over to help the woman and whisked her off to the hospital.

“It was a case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Duggan.

COMMUNITY SUPPORTING WOMAN AND HER FAMILY

A meal train has since been set up to help feed and care for Cara as well as her husband and their two kids.

Scores of people in the community have also been reaching out to the local woman and her family and offering words of support for them on social media.

This latest incident, however, isn’t the first time that aggressive dogs have come after and injured residents of the Greenwood-Mortimer area.

Duggan told CP24.com that she’s aware of three other similar incidents that have happened in the vicinity in last three or so years.

Last summer, Duggan said she and her husband contacted 311 to complain about aggressive “pitbulls or pitbull-mix” dogs running loose near their home, but said that not a lot has happened since then to improve the situation.

“This whole thing has been a nightmare. … This is a public safety concern,” she said.

“We have small kids. It’s terrifying.”

In a statement provided to CP24.com, the city said that it is “aware of an incident that occurred at 470 Mortimer Ave. earlier this week.”

“The dogs involved in the incident were euthanized subsequent to the attack. As this is an active investigation, we are unable to provide more details at this time,” a spokesperson wrote in an email.

Local Coun. Paula Fletcher, meanwhile, is calling the situation a “very big community safety issue,” adding she’s “expecting an immediate and coordinated response from the city and the police.”

“This is a dangerous situation for the neighbourhood and it must be sorted out immediately,” she told CP24.com on Wednesday afternoon.

“I’m going to the top with this. … This woman could have died, if it wasn’t for someone passing by.”

Fletcher met with city staff on Wednesday afternoon and said she’s also spoken with the victim.

Fletcher also told CP24.com that she did not know until recently about any previous issues with aggressive dogs in the Mortimer-Greenwood area.

On Thursday morning, Toronto police announced that they have arrested and charged the 51-year-old owner of the dog in connection with the weekend incident

Carla De Oliveira Baganha, of Toronto, has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm.

The charges against her have not been tested in court.