L'Assomption - A four-year-old girl has been brought to hospital with serious bites to her face, arms and elsewhere on her body after being attacked by a mastiff near the corner of Mariani and Joyal in L’Assomption Quebec at about 9:30 Monday morning.
The girl was walking with her 16-year-old cousin when the dog escaped from a yard and attacked the child.
The dog's owner rushed out to pry the dog off the child but she too suffered bites that left her bleeding profusely from the leg.
Police rushed to the scene and shot at the dog, hitting it several times. The dog survived and retreated under a balcony.
A special canine team arrived from Berger Blanc and managed to corral the dog into a van.
The victim was transported to hospital in Terrebonne but was quickly transported to Ste. Justine's to undergo surgery.
Neighbours told CTV Montreal that the dog had long been a menacing figure on the block.
Neighbour Kim Woodburn said that she was initially reticent to look outside when she heard the screams.
“I said, ‘Oh my God. There must be something going on.’ I locked the doors, but then finally I said I have to go see what's going on.”
Investigators are attempting to determine how it escaped from its yard.
The dog is believed to be a bullmastiff, a breed that can weigh up to 120 lbs (54 kgs).
L'Assomption is a city of 20,000 about 40 km northeast of downtown Montreal.
