A Lake Country resident wants to warn the public about the rules around dog leashes after her dog was viciously attacked on the Okanagan Rail Trail.
Kelsi Edgelow and her mother Christa were walking their 13-year-old border collie/labrador cross Baylee when they were approached by two dogs Friday, May 4 on the trail in Oyama.
“They were big, boxer-type dogs, and my mom said ‘hi guys.’ You’re always worried if they’re going to be friendly but they seemed fine. They started to sniff Baylee and she was calm, she was on a leash and they weren’t. Within seconds of them smelling Baylee they just grabbed onto her. My mom immediately went to her knees and tried to pull them apart and she couldn’t do anything,” said Kelsi.
Christa tried to pull Baylee away from the scene, but “the dogs had such a good grip on her that they pulled her out of her collar,” said Kelsi. Christa started screaming which alerted other strangers to come and give a hand.
The attacking dogs’ owner had zero control of her dogs, said Kelsi. “It went on for minutes, we couldn’t get them off.”
“When she came up, she had no leashes in hand to control them.”
After spending a night at the vet, Baylee is bruised, will need help going up and down stairs, but is very much alive.
“The best scenario happened because it was really really aggressive,” said Kelsi.
She doesn’t want the dogs to be put down, but she would like them to be labelled as aggressive and would like owners to take responsibility of their pets, especially since this is the second time Baylee has been attacked. The first time was in Kelsi’s front yard.
“She’s very timid,” she said.
According to a regional district bylaw, dogs labelled as aggressive are put on a probationary period for 36 months.
In the Central Okanagan, dogs must be leashed at all times unless otherwise stated in designated off-leash parks or areas.
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carli.berry@kelownacapnews.com
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