Four hospitalized in Surrey after pit bulls turn on owners

Four women were rushed to hospital Friday afternoon after they tried to break up a fight between their three pit bulls.

Jas Rehal, manager of bylaw enforcement and licensing for the city of Surrey, said their animal control officers got the call at about 2:30 p.m. that the women had been attacked by the pit bulls inside their house.

He said RCMP, ambulance crews and fire officials all converged on the scene at 113 Avenue and Loughren Drive in north Surrey to find the women suffering primarily from arm wounds.

Four women were rushed to hospital Friday afternoon after they tried to break up a fight between their three pit bulls. Photos courtesy of Shane Mackichan.

Four women were rushed to hospital Friday afternoon after they tried to break up a fight between their three pit bulls. Photos courtesy of Shane Mackichan.

The dogs then turned on the women, he added.

Rehal said the pit bulls along with a Shih Tzu, which was not involved in the dogfight, were taken into custody by animal control officers and that there has been no decision yet on what to do with them.

Four women were rushed to hospital Friday afternoon after they tried to break up a fight between their three pit bulls. Photos courtesy of Shane Mackichan.

Four women were rushed to hospital Friday afternoon after they tried to break up a fight between their three pit bulls. Photos courtesy of Shane Mackichan. [PNG Merlin Archive]

He said none of the responders were injured while corralling the pit bulls. “Once we were there, we got them under control pretty quickly.”

Friday’s pit bull attack follows several other recent pit bull attacks in British Columbia. They include:

June 2016: A woman needed emergency facial surgery after being mauled by her friend’s pit bull terrier. The woman in charge of the pit bull terrier claimed the incident was a “total accident.”

April 2016: A nine-year-old girl was been taken to hospital after being bitten by a pit bull outside her family’s residence in Surrey. The dog belonged to the family’s landlord.

December 2015: On Christmas Day, Robin Elgie and his girlfriend were mauled by two pit bulls that invaded their Fort St. John trailer home. The attack nearly cost Elgie one of his arms. 

July 2015: A man and woman were  treated in hospital after suffering serious but non-life-threatening  head and facial injuries when they were mauled by a pit bull  in a New Westminster apartment.

July 2015 : A pit bull attacked a teenage newspaper carrier. It broke through the screen on a door to get at her and was later killed by police.

April  2015: A nine-year-old Penticton girl was the victim of an unprovoked pit bull attack, requiring five stitches on her arm. 

bmorton@postmedia.com