Hamilton man charged in Brant County dog attack was previously charged for Ancaster mauling

A Hamilton man - whose two German shepherds were designated as dangerous by the city last June - has been charged in connection with a dog attack on a Brant County trail.

Greg Bergeron, manager of enforcement for the County of Brant, told The Spectator that on May 23, bylaw officers and Ontario Provincial Police responded to a male who had reportedly been bitten by a dog while riding his bike on the rail trail between Paris and Glen Morris.

The victim was taken to hospital and later released after treatment, said Bergeron.

Bergeron said the owner of the dog was tracked down and identified while officers were still on scene. The man had two dogs with him at the time of the incident, however, only one of the animals was reportedly involved in the attack.

Bergeron said bylaw officers charged the man, who is from Hamilton, with failing to exercise reasonable precautions to prevent a dog from biting or attacking a person.

No further details were provided on the incident, which remained under investigation as of June 1, according to a Brant County spokesperson.

However, The Spectator has confirmed that the dog owner at the centre of the Brant attack is the same man whose German shepherds attacked a Hamilton woman on an Ancaster trail last June.

Tamara Dufour was riding her bike in Iroquoia Heights near the Chedoke Radial Trail early last summer when a German shepherd latched its teeth onto her leg, leaving her mauled and covered in blood.

The attack sent her to the hospital, with her wounds requiring about 30 stitches. In the wake of the incident, she and her partner, Marcel Camposilvan, called on Hamilton police and animal services to take action against the dog owner.

The dog owner was later served with three charges: one for permitting a dog to bite a person and two for failing to license a dog.

Animal services also designated both dogs as dangerous under its animal ownership bylaw.

Under the bylaw, the shepherds would need to be equipped with muzzles and leashes secured to collars or harnesses any time they are in public.

Additionally, the owner would have to erect a clearly visible sign outside their property warning of the presence of a dangerous dog.

In a statement to The Spectator, Monica Ciriello, director of bylaw and licensing services in Hamilton, confirmed that the owner and dogs in the Brant attack were those involved in the Ancaster incident.

Ciriello said the dangerous dog designation issued by Hamilton Animal Services is only in effect within city limits, meaning once an owner leaves the city, the rules are null and void until they return.

Bergeron said the incident remains under investigation and officials are working on speaking to other witnesses who have run into the man and his dogs. Additional charges under the Dog Owners' Liability Act are pending," he added.

Ciriello confirmed that Hamilton Animal Services is working with the County of Brant in the probe.

Bergeron noted that the county has also taken steps to ban the man and his dogs from parks, trails and community centres in Brant.

Dog attacks are a serious concern," said Bergeron. We want to thank the public for their input and support surrounding this situation."

Fallon Hewitt is a reporter at The Spectator. fhewitt@thespec.com