CLOVERDALE - An eight-month-old Cloverdale boy is recovering from head injuries after the family's pet American bulldog clamped down on him last month.
An ambulance rushed the baby to hospital on March 19, where he received stitches to his head after the pet attacked him suddenly and without provocation at the young family's townhome.Police said animal control destroyed the dog at the parents' request. It had apparently not caused any problems before this attack, which came as a total surprise.Kim Marosevich, manager of Surrey Animal Resource Centre on Colebrook Road, said it's "very difficult to produce any accurate statistics" on how many dog owners or family members are bitten by their pets."It requires people to self-report," she said. "The vast majority that happen in the home, we never hear about," Marosevich suspects. "We don't have any great Canadian statistics."Most of the reported attacks involve a neighbour's or stranger's dog, she noted.This particular attack has been "devastating" for the family, she said.