Woman charged in connection with dog attack previously ordered to muzzle her dogs
The woman charged in connection with a dog attack in Toronto that left a nine-year-old child with "life-altering injuries" has previously been found by a court to be an irresponsible dog owner, CTV News has learned.
On Saturday morning, a family's day out at a playground near Lake Shore Boulevard West and Bathurst Street took a turn when an off-leash dog charged toward the child through an open gate.
Police said the dog bit and dragged the child to the ground, and after the father and the dog's owner got the dog to release the child, the owner fled. Patrycja Siarek, 38, was arrested and charged in connection with the incident, and a dog was seized. On Tuesday, Siarek was released on bail.
This is not the first time allegations have been made about Siarek's "irresponsible" dog ownership and her dogs' "vicious" behaviour.
Sabita Singh told CTV News Toronto she rented a condo to Siarek and her partner in 2021, a move that would soon devolve into a months-long, $100,000-dollar legal battle culminating in eviction.
"Right after they moved in, there were dog complaints," Singh said in an interview.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
A court decision from March 14, 2022, details a violent incident involving one of Siarek's two American Pocket Bullies in December 2021, where a resident and her own dog were “viciously attacked” and seriously injured.
"Her dog ran into the elevator on its own – lunged at that individual and the puppy," Singh said.
The court documents reveal that the City ordered the dogs to be muzzled publicly. Justice Fred Myers noted he saw video evidence of that order being ignored, as later that same month, one of Siarek's dogs was seen again going into the apartment elevator without a leash.
Myers added that he viewed multiple videos of Siarek "having to use her body weight to restrain one of the dogs from lunging at residents, including a child," and that she had trouble restraining her dogs physically.
"The video of the attack on December 4, 2021, leaves no doubt as to the vicious conduct of which the dogs are capable. They should not be in a condominium with people and children with owners who are not willing or able to protect their neighbours," Myers wrote in the decision.
According to Singh, animal control visited the unit as her former tenants were not complying with the rules of the Dangerous Dog order.
"We thought animal control was going to take the dog away at that point and instead they walked out of the building and handed the dogs right back to them," Singh said.
The court decision reveals the dogs were removed in February 2022, but since they were not ordered to be confiscated, they were returned to Siarek, who left with them.
It was later believed the dogs returned to the unit, as full dog bowls and pee pads remained inside the condo, dog droppings were found on two separate occasions on the balcony, and another resident, living directly below, testified that "a bag full of dog excrement had been dropped onto her patio and exploded."
After numerous warnings and missed court hearings, Myers determined that Siarek and her partner breached previous court orders and ordered their eviction.
"The issue here is that the tenants keep dogs that they do not train or control to avoid mauling people or others' pets," Myers wrote in his decision. "The dogs have been labelled 'dangerous' by the City. Yet the tenants have left the dogs roam the halls."
When Singh learned of Siarek's arrest on Sunday, she was horrified.
"I'm extremely angry by what happened. It could have been avoided and it's heartbreaking to see this child has been mauled as a result of this," Singh said.
"I'm disappointed in the city and specifically disappointed in animal control for not doing their job."
While animal services seized the dog involved in the latest dog attack, they declined to comment as the matter is currently in front of the courts.
With files from CTV News Toronto’s Abby O'Brien
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Statistics Canada says real GDP grew 0.2 per cent in February
Canada's GDP rose 0.2 per cent in February, driven by a rebound in transportation and warehousing, which saw the largest recorded month-to-month rise in over a year at 1.4 per cent.
BREAKING 4 dead, including infant, in wrong-way crash involving police on Ontario's Highway 401
A wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby, Ont. last night has left four people dead, including an infant, Ontario’s police watchdog says.
NEW Is there a cost to convenience? Canada approves new cancer immunotherapy treatment
A new cancer treatment recently approved in Canada promises to cut treatment time down to just minutes, but experts have differing opinions on whether it's what's best for patients.
Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
Canada's new dental program offering hope of free care to millions but many dentists aren't signed up
A new Canadian dental care program is offering the hope of free care to millions, but while 1.7 million people have signed up for the plan, only about 5,000 dentists have done the same.
Province boots mayor and council in small northern Ont. town out of office
An ongoing municipal strike, court battles and revolt by half of council has prompted the province to oust the mayor and council in Black River-Matheson.
Winner of US$1.3 billion Powerball jackpot is an immigrant from Laos who has cancer
One of the winners of a historic US$1.3 billion Powerball jackpot last month is an immigrant from Laos who has had cancer for eight years and had his latest chemotherapy treatment last week.
King Charles III returns to public duties with a trip to a cancer charity
King Charles III returned to public duties on Tuesday, visiting a cancer treatment charity and beginning his carefully managed comeback after the monarch's own cancer diagnosis sidelined him for three months.
NDP says Ottawa's new grocery task force isn't living up to government promises
The federal government says the task force it created to monitor and investigate grocery retailers' practices has not conducted any probes and doesn't have a mandate to take enforcement action.