For Carole Thouesny, the mayor of Dasle, “it’s an unfortunate affair”. In her town, last Sunday, a jogger experienced a tragedy. Not the worst on the planet, but enough to fill his nights with “nightmares and images of violence”.
The lady, 62, helplessly witnessed the fatal attack on her 10-year-old Maltese, Junior.
Traumatic facts recounted to us by the unfortunate woman’s son, Bastien Cardey. “It was 10 a.m. My mother was running with her bichon on a leash. Suddenly, at the old station, a big dog appeared out of nowhere. Then a second, a third, a fourth. They jumped on Junior, my mother couldn’t hold the leash.”
The canines, such as Bernese mountain dogs, plant their fangs and drag their prey to the nearby forest. To play perhaps, driven by a pack effect. “My mother’s partner, who was waiting in a nearby parking lot, heard her screams. He arrived very quickly, grabbed a stick so that the dogs would let go.” Junior is seriously injured. He was transported to the on-call veterinary clinic (in Perugia) where he died during the night. The specialist noted “multiple bites and extensive bruising on the rear area”.
The mayor: “These dogs were not wandering”
If the gendarmes moved “quickly” according to Bastien Cardey, he nevertheless holds a grudge against them: “They refused to allow us to file a complaint, saying that there would be no follow-up. Thanks to the mayor of Dampierre-les-Bois whom we know, a complaint was filed Monday with the Étupes brigade. It’s a shame to have wasted all this time.” The approach is in vain, however. No criminal offense can be upheld, “a dog having no legal personality” recalls Paul-Edouard Lallois, public prosecutor of Montbéliard who closed the case. “People need to understand that. These conflicts are settled in civil court between insurance companies,” he adds. In any case, a tragedy was avoided. If a child had been walking on the bike path at the same time, would the dogs have had the same reaction? The thing is possible. “In this case, involuntary injuries by attack on an animal would have been held against the owner,” notes the representative of the prosecution.
“Reports”
The owner of the bichon has taken steps to demand reimbursement of veterinary costs (€400) from the responsible owner. “During the attack, he was absent, only appearing after half an hour,” Bastien Cardey is surprised. Ironically, that very afternoon, the four animals were entrusted to the Society for the Protection of Animals (SPA) of Metz with the agreement of the Daslois, this after long procedures launched by the municipality. “We had received reports of poor detention conditions and barking. The owner agreed. He was overwhelmed by his animals which came from a litter,” relates Carole Thouesny. To indicate that “the dogs were not wandering” and that they had never escaped. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have waited, I would have taken action. I never thought such an incident could happen. Until now, only this gentleman’s chickens were sometimes found on the path.
