‘I’m horrified’: Resident raises concerns after dog attack

A local woman is raising concerns after being injured during a dog attack on April 29. 

Moneek Cochrane and her husband Logan had taken their two dogs to a neighbourhood outdoor rink to play. They were walking east on the 700 block of Ominica Street East with Moneek walking their five-pound Papillon puppy and Logan walking their lab cross. 

At one point, they stopped to talk to a neighbour to discuss crime and dogs running up and down the neighbourhood. In particular, they were concerned about a pair of Huskies in the area. 

Moneek and Logan continued their journey home and, as they approached the house with the Huskies, they noticed the gate on the deck and a big white door at the front of the house was open. 

“I, personally, inside started to feel really nervous because I know these dogs... I blinked and there it was. One of the Huskies came running right out at me,” recalled Moneek. 

Moneek immediately grabbed her Papillon puppy and curled him into her arms to protect him as the Husky leaped off the deck and started jumping and lunging.  

She said the dog tried to grab her hair on the left side of her skull but missed. She then felt the dog come back up and grabbed her upper left triceps and bit her. 

“She just continually started jumping at me and I literally just went back and forth in circles. I did the best I could to protect my dog,” Moneek said. 

She eventually fell to the ground as Logan did everything he could to get the dog off of her. 

“It was incessant. She was after me and nothing was phasing her,” Moneek said. 

Logan was also holding back their lab cross because she was becoming agitated and knew Moneek was in trouble. 

When Moneek hit the ground, that’s when the owner and his son came to grab the dog. Even then, it was an ordeal to get the dog to stop. 

“It took both of them to pin him down. We were on the sidewalk walking and, at this point, when I hit the ground, I was on the boulevard in the grassy area,” Moneek explained. 

Moneek was able to get up after the dog was back under control. The attack took place shortly after 5 p.m. Because she had been screaming, three other neighbours came out of their homes to make sure everything was okay.  

She told the neighbours she felt a bite and she was told the dog had broken skin. Moneek said she was upset as she felt the dog’s owner downplayed the injuries as just scratches. 

“Things got heated. I was upset. I vocalized my concerns and, at that point, I gave my puppy I was holding to my husband and told him to take them home,” Moneek said. 

Moneek walked to the neighbour’s house that they had been talking to earlier about the dogs. They cleaned her up and another neighbour, who is a nurse, checked her out and recommended going to hospital to get a tetanus shot. 

She also called the Moose Jaw Police Service to report the attack. Moneek said shortly after 6 p.m. Const. Jared Brin came and took a statement.  

After checking in with the police officer, Moneek went to the hospital, while Brin went to the house to find out about the dog’s medical history. She received a phone call from Brin while she was at the hospital and learned the dog had not been vetted or vaccinated. 

Moneek received antibiotics to avoid infection and a tetanus shot. She was concerned that she did not get a rabies shot. However, she was told there are different levels of protocol with animal bites and rabies shots usually aren’t given unless it is a stray dog or the owner is unknown. 

Moneek was also told that Brin gathered his information, and it has been presented to the City of Moose Jaw bylaw enforcement. 

According to the City of Moose Jaw Dog Bylaw, every owner of a dog running at large is guilty of an offence under the bylaw. By definition, “running at large” means the dog is off the owner’s premises and not on a leash held by a person able to control the dog. Dogs are only allowed off-leash in the city’s off-leash dog park. 

You can read the whole Dog Bylaw here. 

Moneek said the worst of her injuries was on her upper left triceps. She immediately bruised, there was lots of swelling and bite marks were visible and bleeding where the dog had broken the skin.  

She had scrapes along her left forearm from the dog’s claws. She had a scab mark in her right elbow that she was unsure how that injury came to be and redness on her right knee from the fall. 

Injuries sustained by Moneek Cochrane after a recent dog attack. (Photos courtesy: Moneek Cochrane)

Moneek said everything happened very quickly. She said if she didn’t have her dog with her, she may have had a split second to react and protect herself. 

“I didn’t have a moment to think. Literally my instinct was just protection (of the dog). I was completely defenseless,” she said. 

Noting a nearby school, Moneek felt the situation could have been a whole lot worse if a young child was in her situation. 

“I feel like this whole incident could have been a lot worse. I’m not trying to downgrade what happened to myself. I’m horrified,” she said. 

As for advice to others, she said to be vigilant and aware of your surroundings. Even if a dog seems friendly, you just don’t know. In this case, she had previous concerns about the dog and tried to avoid encounters in the past. 

For pet owners, she’s asking that they be more mindful of their pets. If you know your dog is aggressive, have more safeguards in place so they can’t escape and run free.