Date of publication: June 12, 2022 • 3 hours ago • 3 minutes reading • 5 comments Bruce McConville says he and another man were bitten by a pitbull on Saturday night during an elderly dance at the Pauline-Charron Center in Vanier. Photo by Ashley Fraser / Postmedia
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Bruce McConville is painful and scratched “with a few extra holes inside me, but otherwise I’m fine” after being savagely attacked by a pitbull outside the Vanier nursing home on Saturday night.
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McConville, 59, lives in the neighborhood and works at the Pauline-Charron Center, where he helped organize a Saturday night dance party for the elderly at the French-speaking community center. Another man, Robert Pagé, headed outside around 10:30 pm, where he saw two people – apparently the dog’s caregivers – out on the street in a heated verbal altercation. The dog lives in a house on Cyr Avenue, he said, just across from the nursing home. “As Robert was passing by, his dog attacked him. He unleashed it and just threw it away. “He feared for his life and suffered serious injuries from being bitten on both his wrists and feet,” McConville said Sunday afternoon. “I saw him do his stitches this morning.”
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The man re-entered the center of the elderly, dumbfounded and bleeding, where McConville quickly put on his horrible wounds. “It has terrified the elderly,” McConville said. Police confirmed that they were called to an address on Cyr Avenue on Saturday night, but had no information available on Sunday about the call. McConville said he assumed the dog was under control as soon as police arrived, with three officers on the front porch. A close-up shows the bite on Robert Pagé’s left hand, where you can see the outline of the dog’s teeth. Photo provided He started accompanying the elderly people in their cars, one by one, when the dog attacked again. “One of the ladies was standing outside and suddenly I heard the dog barking and I saw him jumping over the railing of the property (Sirodos). “He jumped and made a beeline for the lady standing in front, just galloping straight for her,” McConville said.
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“I picked it up, chased the dog and was able to deflect it – I gave it a good quick kick – and it turned the dog’s attention on me.” The woman ran safely back to the nursing home, but, McConville said, “I was trapped by the dog between me and the building. “It fell many times, and I could kick it, but every time it passed me it took a small sting or bite on me. “I ended up fighting on the ground and rolled over – he was trying to grab his jaw by my throat – and this continued until the police were able to intervene.” McConville recalled seeing about five officers at the scene and one of them firing a Teaser, “which appeared to have zero effect,” he said. The dog just ran back home, he said. The dog is known in the neighborhood as “very rough and intimidating,” McConville said. “But last night’s adventure was completely unexpected.
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“It was surreal when you were in a situation where you were fighting for your life.” Ambulances arrived after the second attack and treated McConville at the scene. McConville had cared for Pagé inside the center after the first attack, after which he drove himself to Montfort Hospital. McConville followed him after a brisk ambulance ride, was admitted around midnight and spent the night in hospital before being stitched up and released on Sunday morning. He is still in pain, but even more so, he is disappointed by the lack of assurances he received from the authorities after the “scary” incident. “When the second attack took place and they returned the dog home, they explained to me that the dog owner was not present on the property, was not available and that the dog was not registered,” McConville said. “I was told it was up to the caregivers to comply with any orders. “So, due to some bureaucratic protocols, they told me (the authorities) could not remove the dog,” he said. “This dog is allowed to roam freely, and it is very vicious and intimidating. “So hearing that law enforcement is not in a position to ensure the safety of people by restricting this dog is very disappointing.” [email protected] Twitter.com/helmera
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