Five people were injured following a dog attack at John Fraser Secondary School, say police.

Around 7 p.m. on July 10, the MIFA Oakville Longhorns semi-pro tackle men’s football team and the MIFA All-Stars Canada women’s team were practising on the football field at John Fraser Secondary School in Mississauga when some team members noticed an elderly couple being “attacked viciously” by what appeared to be a pit bull and terrier mixed-breed dog.

The team’s head coach and program co-ordinator, Liston Bates, vividly described the scene.

“The dog was relentless,” he said. “If my football players didn’t do what they did, this dog would’ve continued to go until someone bled out.”

A member of the women’s team, and two members of the men’s team rushed to help the couple being attacked after they heard growling and barking. Bates said the man and woman were both under five feet and couldn’t ward off the dog. The dog attacked the woman, while the man tried to defend.

Bates said the dog was unleashed and the woman with the dog couldn’t keep the dog under control, insisting her dog was friendly. The woman who was initially attacked managed to run away before the dog attacked her again, Bates said.

“It pounced to knock her over and went for her neck,” Bates said.

It was then that Matthew Walters, the team’s defensive captain, and David Ferkul, the team’s quarterback, attempted to defend the woman. Both players were attacked and sustained slit arms and wounds all over their hands. Meanwhile, onlookers were screaming at the woman with the dog to control it. Bates says a man accompanying the woman and dog was timidly attempting to control the animal.

The two people with the dog finally cornered the canine as it slowed down and took it away while apologizing. Bates says they fled the scene with the dog.

The elderly woman was bitten on the stomach, while Bates’ players had injuries on their arms and hands and lost enough blood to make their faces pale, he said.