LABRADOR WEST, N.L.
Evening walks are part of an everyday routine for Jonathan Lapointe-Villeneuve.
The young teacher enjoys the peace and tranquility of a walk through town at the end of the day.
Recently that tranquility was disrupted due to an attack on him by two dogs that were on the loose.
“I decided to walk on the road behind Tamarack. It was a dark evening and there was less traffic there,” Lapointe-Villeneuve told The Aurora. “All of a sudden I saw two big dogs chasing each other, and I wasn’t too concerned.”
But in a moment, the dogs turned and ran towards Lapointe-Villeneuve.
“I’m not normally afraid of dogs, but this time they ran and jumped on me, and one bit me in the thigh,” he said of the incident.
Lapointe-Villeneuve said he was a bit concerned, and shocked, but somebody had seen what happened and the police appeared. He gave them information he hoped they could use.
Then there was the next part of the ordeal.
Bitten by a dog, with no information on what dog it was or if it was vaccinated, Lapointe-Villeneuve then visited the hospital.
“On the first evening I had seven injections, as they had to make sure of rabies and other related problems,” he said.
Then he had to endure a regimen of medication. The pills gave him intestinal and stomach problems. He also had to return to the hospital for more injections.
Lapointe-Villeneuve says he will continue to walk, but maybe with a bit of a defense against dogs like the ones he encountered.
His concern is that if these dogs had been near very young people, the results could have been much worse.
Lapointe-Villeneuve says pet owners need to be more responsible. He hopes people who own pets will learn from this and respect the fact it is important to keep their pets under control. He says even at times, pets on walking trails where they are supposed to be on a leash, are set free.
Lapointe-Villeneuve will continue walking, and hopes what happened to him will be a chance for others to learn and prevent any other similar incidents from occurring.
