It was an attack by three dogs that left a nine-year-old girl severely injured and a Newmarket neighbourhood traumatized.
Making it worse, the incident wasn’t the first time the dogs had attacked.
Now, their owner, 68-year-old Leslie Theodore Kovacs, has been sentenced after pleading guilty almost two years after his three dogs attacked the child. It happened at his home on Jackson Court northwest of Davis and Huron Heights drives, York Regional Police Const. Lisa Moskaluk said May 14.
The girl and her father visited Kovacs’ home on July 27, 2023 to look at puppies for sale.
Three “bulldog-type dogs rushed out and attacked the girl without provocation,” Moskaluk said.
The girl was taken to the Hospital for Sick Children. She was given an emergency blood transfusion on the way.
The child was treated for serious, but non-life-threatening injuries at the hospital.
Kovacs was charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm and three counts under the Ontario Dog Owners’ Liability Act (DOLA). He was also found to be in violation of a muzzle order issued by Newmarket Animal Services, Moskaluk said.
The dogs, a male, a female and what is believed to be their offspring, were surrendered and euthanized after the attack.
On May 13, Kovacs pleaded guilty to all the charges against him.
He was sentenced to one year of house arrest, 15 months of probation, a lifetime ban on owning, keeping, harbouring, or residing in a home with a dog, and a $5,000 penalty under the DOLA, Moskaluk said.
Shortly after the girl was attacked, a neighbour told The Newmarket Era and how he had fought for a year to have the dogs tethered, put behind a fence, muzzled or deemed dangerous.
The man said he knew the dogs were capable of being vicious and he was trying to prevent a person from being attacked.
On Aug. 14, 2022, two of the dogs had rushed off Kovacs’ deck and attacked small corgis being walked by their owners.
A report was filed with police and the man said the force referred it to animal control, which later told him they hadn’t received it.
Another attack happened just a month later.
On Sept. 18, 2022, two of Kovacs’ dogs attacked a neighbour’s dog, leaving it seriously injured.
The man tried to get a dangerous dog order issued but instead the town issued a muzzle order because animal control said it hadn’t received the initial police report.
The man described the attack on the girl as emotional.
“Everyone is heartbroken,” said the man, saying residents were left traumatized.
Police and Newmarket Animal Services emphasize the importance of responsible pet ownership and the serious consequences of failing to control aggressive animals, Moskaluk said.
The safety and well-being of the community remain a top priority, she said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the #1 District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7141.
Anyone wanting to provide information anonymously can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or provide a tip online at .
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