Nearby neighbours came to the aide of the girl who was attacked by a dog Friday afternoon

Three Sylvan Lake locals jumped to action to help a young girl when she was attacked by a dog.

Ed Canuel, who came between the girl and what he believes was a pit bull, called the attack vicious, and left the young girl in need of immediate medical attention.

“I heard the girl screaming and then I saw two guys from down the street come running,” Canuel said.

The dog attacked a young girl Friday afternoon on Hinshaw Drive.

The animal weighed around 110 pounds, according to Canuel, and easily bucked off the full grown men who tried to subdue it and help the child.

“Every time we tried to give the girl first aid the dog would buck and attack… it was vicious,” said Canuel.

The girl was sent to Red Deer Regional Hospital to look after the deep wounds on her hip and leg. Canuel said when he tried to tend to her he couldn’t tell how bad it really was.

“The dog’s mouth and face was just covered in blood.”

He said in order to help the girl and subdue the dog they had to tape its mouth closed. Canuel said the tape had to be wrapped around the head and muzzle.

In order to help the girl she had to be separated from the dog and brought into a nearby house.

“We held the dog by the collar… it was being choked and was still attacking us,” said Canuel.

Another neighbour called the RCMP for help, who arrived on the scene quickly according to Canuel.

An ambulance also arrived on the scene to take the girl to the hospital to be treated.

The dog, once subdued, was slipped into a kennel and taken by Animal Control, who will decide what will happen to it.

Canuel says the dog is known for being “troubled” in the neighbourhood.

“This dog was a bit troubled. It would attack other smaller dogs that went past the yard on walks and such,” he said.

Canuel says they were lucky to have heard the girl’s screams in time to help.

“If it had happened in a backyard or something, if we hadn’t heard the screams, that little girl would have died.”

Under the Canada Dangerous Dog Act, a justice may decide a dog should be put down if “that dog has bitten or attempted to bite a person, or that a dog is dangerous and not kept under proper control.”

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