Dog owner promises change after multiple attacks in northwest Edmonton neighbourhood

A man sprinting and screaming for help to get away from four large dogs attacking him.

That was the scene caught on security camera footage in the Sherbrooke neighbourhood of northwest Edmonton earlier this year.

Residents tell CityNews this has recently been a regular occurrence in the community. They say it’s still going on, including another attack from last week.

Morgan Nadeau-Smith runs a nearby child-care centre, where the attacks happened. She says a family and one of her staff were attacked by the same dogs. She tells CityNews her fear has become too much, as now her children are forced to play inside a closed-off basketball court. She now carries a bat in her car in case the dogs come near her.

“We’re the ones suffering, we’re the ones who can’t be outside to play, we’re the ones who can’t be out and enjoying nature, going for walks, going for jogs, going to the splash park, because we’re scared of dogs,” Nadeau-Smith said.

Another resident, Brian, who sits on the community league board, says many in the neighbourhood have been walking on eggshells.

“My partner and my daughter have been pinned against the fence right behind me, almost exactly, by the dogs,” Brian told CityNews.

“They don’t want their kids to go outside. My daughter doesn’t want to go to this park anymore. It feels like such a tragedy that these kids don’t get to have this active tactile outdoor experience that’s been stripped away from them.”

The dogs are owned by a tenant living in the basement of a home in the neighbourhood. The people living upstairs are not involved.

CityNews spoke to both the homeowner and the basement tenant, who owns the now three dogs in their care – two of them are about a year old. The tenant is accepting full responsibility of what happened, understands why the neighbours are concerned, and insists the dogs are not dangerous, even though they seem aggressive.

The tenant says over the last month, they are working to control the dogs, and submitted photos showing extra locks on fences and tethers on trees to keep them in place. They also say they have been walking each dog one at a time.

The tenant also plans to apologize to the neighbourhood while working through the thousands of dollars of fines they have received.

The community is aware of what can happen to dogs that are not controlled. The 2024 dog attack that killed an 11-year-old boy is fresh in their minds, as the owner of that case was found guilty of criminal negligence causing death and awaits sentencing.

“It really feels like they’re giving… there’s more rights being met for the dog owners than there is for the community members, or the children, or the families, or local businesses,” Nadeau-Smith said.

Animal Care and Control says it is aware of the attacks, and it’s starting to have more bylaw officers patrolling this neighbourhood. New bylaws went into force last month, including mandatory pet training and increased fines up to $3,000, and $7,000 for repeat offenders. Since the new laws came in, nine tickets have been handed out.