Dogs that mauled St. Andrews girl in Oakbank euthanized

Two Alaskan malamutes that fatally mauled a seven-year-old girl in Oakbank last weekend have been put down.

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The girl died last Sunday she was attacked by the dogs at the home of a family friend.The dogs, three-year-old malamutes named Shadow and Bear, were seized.

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Dan Fryer, the animal control officer in the Rural Municipality of Springfield, said Friday after consulting with RCMP, the regional health authority and the municipality, the decision was made to euthanize the dogs.

Fryer said they were put down Thursday.He said typically, a dog that has bitten someone would be held for 10 days to see if rabies symptoms show up.

"In this case, because of the severity of the case involved, we didn't feel it was required to wait the full 10 days," he said. "So we had themeuthanizedas soon as the RCMP felt it was prudent to move on."

No charges have been laid in the case.RCMP told CBC they would release a decision on that either Friday or Monday.

Fryer said samples from the dogs will be sent for rabies testing.

"If it's a negative sample, then there's no further action needed in terms of public health," he said."But if there's a positive sample, then obviously public health will step in, and contact those involved."

Fryer said since the girl's death Sunday, he's had more calls about dogs from people inthe area.

"I think people are just a little bit more wary at this stage due to what happened," he said. "They're just a little bit more wary of dogs they see perhaps roaming on their neighbours' property or just not under direct supervision that they can see."

Fryer said he wants to reassure residents.

"We have good control of the dogs in Springfield itself," he said. "I don't have any concerns that attacks are frequent in Springfield. It's just unfortunate. This is one of those terrible accidents that happen from time to time."