WARNING: This article contains graphic content and disturbing images.
Aggressive dogs roaming at large around Johnstons River, P.E.I., have some people living in the community concerned for their safety.
Residents said two Rottweilers have attacked people on multiple occasions, resulting in stitches, and they want the dogs removed from the unincorporated area northeast of the Town of Stratford in central P.E.I.
Hunter Hamilton is one of those who needed medical attention.
“I had a Canada Goose jacket at the time, so I think that kind of saved me,” he said, showing the stitches and bruising where one of the dogs bit down on his lower arm through his thick down-filled parka.
He had been out for a walk with his own dog Jasper on the morning of Christmas Eve when he said the two Rottweilers attacked him and his pet.
Hamilton yelled for help and grabbed a log from a neighbour’s woodpile, hitting one of the attacking dogs over the head. Eventually, someone came out of a nearby house and called the Rottweilers to him.
“At the time I didn’t feel the bite at all. It wasn’t until — I guess when I got back to the house and told of the extent of what happened, that I took off my coat and it was covered in blood, and that’s when we had to go to the emerge and I had to get five stitches,” Hamilton said.
Hunter Hamilton shows his injuries after a dog attack Dec. 24, 2024
‘At the time I didn’t feel the bite at all,’ says Hunter Hamilton, showing his injuries just after a Dec. 24 dog attack in this photo taken by his mother. (Submitted by Grace Sun)
Jasper ended up needing nine stitches on his face and back.
“He was definitely traumatized,” Hamilton said of his pet. Afterward, he said Jasper didn’t want to leave the house, but he is now improving daily.
‘It’s not safe’
Hamilton’s parents drove him to the hospital to get the stitches. On the way, his father stopped at the house where the Rottweilers had gone to talk to their owner, briefly describing what had happened. They returned several times to follow up, but said nobody answered the door.
The family called the RCMP and the P.E.I. Humane Society, but said not enough is being done. The dogs are still in the neighbourhood, roaming off-leash.
“It’s not safe, and somebody’s going to get seriously hurt,” said Miles Welsh, a neighbour who has also had a couple of run-ins with the Rottweilers.
I’m very frustrated, very mad… It’s not right. — Miles Welsh
Two weeks ago, he said, the dogs jumped on his dog Max. Welsh said they let Max go when he yelled at them but remained on his property until the owner called them back.
This week, the same dogs attacked Max again, he said.
“The way they grabbed him, it’s the way an animal would attack prey — they grabbed him by the back of the neck and shook him,” said Welsh. “It was a scary situation for a few minutes.”
Again, he said the owner eventually came out of his house and called the dogs back.
Welsh called the RCMP, but he felt they didn’t take the attack seriously.
“The dogs has more rights than us people… I’m very frustrated, very mad… It’s not right.”
Dogs’ owner has three infractions
The Rottweilers are owned by Ties Hakkers.
Court records show that as of September 2024, Hakkers has at least three infractions for allowing dogs to roam at large. While the file doesn’t include details, one infraction is dated the same day Hamilton was attacked. The other two date from September.
Rottweilers in Miles Welsh’s yard in Johnstons River.
Two Rottweilers are shown in Miles Welsh’s yard in Johnstons River on Jan 1. (Submitted by Grace Sun)
Hakkers sent CBC News a statement via text, saying he doesn’t let the dogs roam free — they escaped the house. He said he plans to give the dogs to someone who can handle them safely, and added that he sincerely apologizes to those affected.
Dogs can’t legally be seized
P.E.I.’s Dog Act was written in 1974, but is in the process of being updated. As it stands, law enforcement officials don’t have the jurisdiction to seize a dog that’s been deemed vicious or has attacked someone, but they can fine owners for allowing their dogs to run free.
One goal of the new act will be to strengthen enforcement when it comes to dangerous dogs. The provincial government said it expects to have the new Dog Owners Act, along with the accompanying regulations, in place by the end of 2025.
“We are doing everything we can to ensure the public’s safety and the investigation remains ongoing,” the P.E.I. Humane Society said a statement emailed to CBC News.
Miles Welsh’s dog Max needed stitches after 2 rottweilers attacked him Jan. 1, 2025, in the Johnstons River area.
Miles Welsh’s dog Max needed stitches after two Rottweilers attacked him on Jan. 1. ‘They grabbed him by the back of the neck and shook him,’ says Welsh. (Submitted by Grace Sun)
But Hamilton is skeptical.
“We have the mounting evidence that people are getting hurt, animals are getting hurt — almost fatality even — and it feels like nothing is being done, unfortunately,” he said.
They say another attack is bound to happen, and worry about the safety of small children as well as other dogs in the neighbourhood.
‘Left a scar on me’
Hamilton’s mother Grace Sun said she and other residents now carry things like bats and pepper spray to protect themselves when they go for walks.
“It has been so unsettling. And so for the afternoon walk, we’ve been taking Jasper, our dog, in a car and walking at other neighbourhoods,” said Sun.
“This [Rottweiler] owner is not in my opinion a responsible person… These are aggressive dogs.”
Sun said she thinks the dogs should have been seized immediately after the attack on her son, and feels no one is taking the threat seriously.
“Mentally, it’s definitely just left a scar on me as well. I kind of look over my shoulder now, and I don’t really trust all dogs are safe,” Hamilton said. “This can’t happen again. They gotta go.”
