2nd dog attack in 4 years prompts woman in Fort Simpson, N.W.T., to call for action

A recent dog attack in Fort Simpson, N.W.T., has one woman calling for action.

Linda Hanna was walking her grandson's dog, Boots, in the community on Good Friday when they were both attacked by another dog. The attack left injuries on Hanna's leg and ended up being fatal for 10-year-old Boots.

"It's bullshit. Nobody is doing nothing, everybody is so scared and now my little dog had to pay for it," Hanna told the CBC. 

Hanna doesn't know if the incident will leave her with permanent physical scars, but the emotional scars are already starting to show. When Hanna looks around her home, she sees reminders of Boots all over the house, and when she goes to bed at night, she wakes up screaming with flashbacks from the incident.

"It's awful. I'm waking up yelling for my little dog, I'm crying every time someone asks how's my little fur ball," Hanna said.

This was not the first time Hanna was attacked by a dog in Fort Simpson. In 2019, a dog attack left Hanna with scars on her face and hands. 

"If he would have gotten my jugular I wouldn't be here," Hanna said. 

The dog from the initial attack still roams the streets, Hanna said, while the dog from the most recent attack is currently impounded — its fate yet to be determined.

While Hanna is calling for change in Fort Simpson, the issue of loose, stray or abandoned dogs is a problem that has persisted across the Northwest Territories for decades.

Posts from community Facebook pages tell tales of recent dog attacks on other dogs and people in Edzo and Fort Providence in the last month, while the mayor of Inuvik made a plea earlier this year for pet owners to take more responsibility after two loose dogs were killed by a vehicle. 

Some communities rely on dog culls, while other communities had grassroots initiatives where people send stray and abandoned dogs to the SPCA in Yellowknife.

In Fort McPherson, there is a permanent committee with two volunteers that help organize vaccinations, vet clinics and help care for stray or surrendered dogs.

Carol McCormack is one of the volunteers that joined the Fort McPherson Dog Care committee about a decade ago.

The committee used to focus on getting dogs to the SPCA in Yellowknife, but since intake has slowed down due to the shelters in the south being overwhelmed and in crisis, they've shifted focus to supporting pet owners in the community.