A 58-year-old downtown Maple Ridge resident is still recovering after being mauled by a dog June 5 while on a routine errand.
Dave Soderman stopped in to a corner store at Dewdney Trunk Road and 222nd Street to pick up a few things at about 3:45 p.m. that Sunday afternoon.
But as he was leaving the store, he was attacked by a dog.
“I walked out the door and the dog was on me like a dirty shirt,” Soderman said.
“I had no idea the dog was outside.”
He punched and kicked at the animal, but was bitten seven times.
The dog, which he described as a beige-and-white pit bull, was tied up outside on a leash when the attack happened.
The owner soon came out and stopped the dog and apologized, but then untied the dog and left the area.
An ambulance took Soderman to Ridge Meadows Hospital. His injuries included a puncture bite on the hand, a gash on the leg, another on his arm and another on his side (see image). He was off work for a week, but returned to work this Monday.
“Got no choice, have to pay the bills.”
Police were called and his roommate, Lyne Couture, also called the SPCA.
She wants people to know about the attack.
“I just want to do something for the public because it’s not safe.”
After circulating posters about the attack, she was phoned by a mom who said her daughter was also attacked in the downtown area recently by a beige-and-white pit bull. That woman also has filed a report with police.
Couture is still asking if anyone witnessed the attack to contact police.
Ridge Meadows RCMP confirm they responded to the location about a dog on a leash attacking a man around 4 p.m., about 15 minutes after the attack, but couldn’t confirm details about a second dog attack.
The SPCA received a report about the first attack, but hasn’t yet talked to Ridge Meadows RCMP.
The SPCA will need a warrant in order to seize the dog, if found, said Charity Long, of the Maple Ridge branch.
“We have all the information now. We’re just waiting to see if we know who it is.”