Elderly Osoyoos woman suffers severe injuries in dog attack

Oliver RCMP are investigating after an elderly woman was mauled by a dog that also bit an animal control officer last week.

Officers were called to a home on Sumac Street in Oliver on April 7 after receiving a 911 call from the dog’s owner, following an attack on the owner’s landlord, according to an RCMP media release.

The 76-year-old Osoyoos woman had walked into her tenant's insecure yard to speak with them when the dog, a shepherd cross, charged her, knocking the woman to the ground.

The tenant was able to pull the dog off the woman, but not before it caused severe, non-life threatening injuries to the woman.

An animal control officer who attended the scene to assist with the dog was also bitten, requiring medical assistance for less serious injuries.

The woman was airlifted to hospital, and the dog, who was a year old, was euthanized.

An investigation continues and charges are being considered.

“The incident is a sad reminder of what can happen when a dog is not socially trained and is not secured,” RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Jason Bayda said in the release. “Not only do we have a situation where two people were injured, we also have a situation where the dog needed to be put down."

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