Dog released from animal services custody bites boy at Taekwondo studio

Just days after a dog was released from the custody of Vaughan Animal Services, it bit a 13-year-old boy in the face, leaving him with dozens of stitches.

The incident happened at Black Belt Studio on Bloor Street near Dovercourt Road in Toronto on Friday, shortly after the victim, Muhammad Almutaz Alzghool, was wrapping up his class. The studio is run by Tommy Chang who is the owner of the dog, Dwaeji.

Muhammad claims he was encouraged to approach the dog by his instructor, despite expressing a fear of dogs.

“He told me, ‘You have to overcome your fears and if you don’t you are not going to be a Taekwondo champion.’ So I got closer to the dog and looked at it and then he jumped on my face and bit it,” Muhammed tells CityNews. According to the victim, the dog let go immediately after.

His father, Muath Alzghool, said he immediately called 911 after seeing his son’s face. Muhammad suffered cuts to the left side of his face and lip, resulting in dozens of stitches.

Muhammad said Chang was not present at the time of the incident. He had been a student at the Taekwondo studio for six months at the time of the incident and said he had not seen the dog present at the studio before Friday evening.

A statement from the dog owner’s lawyer offered their “heartfelt sympathy” to Muhammad and said Chang has reached out to the family numerous times.

The statement also does not deny that Dwaeji bit Muhammad in the face, but says there was video surveillance footage that shows Muhammed approached the dog several times prior to being bitten.

“After review of the video,” the statement reads, “the young man engages Dwaeji on several occasions prior to being bitten and appears to show no fear or trepidation of the animal and frankly, on more than one occasion, his actions could be described as somewhat antagonistic towards the animal.”

Despite this, according to the statement, the incident when Muhammad is bitten by the dog happened as the instructor was moving a table and “moves the nearby table towards the body of the dog, possibly encountering the body of the dog. At that precise moment, the dog jumps up and appears to bite the left side of the young man’s face.”

Lawyers for the Chang also said the video surveillance does not show Muhammed being encouraged to approach the dog prior to being bitten.

The dog had been held by Animal Services on suspicion of being a pit bull for several days until Monday when it was released.

A spokesperson for the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said recent regulatory changes allowed animals seized solely on the basis of their alleged breed to be returned to owners while a breed designation is conducted. However, the Ministry says the dog was released prior to these changes.

Had the dog been released after, the owners would have been subject to several restrictions including ensuring the dog does not have contact with the general public and that the dog does not have contact with people, unless a person is familiar with the dog or contact is appropriately limited and managed.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford became personally invested in multiple cases over the past month, several dog owners say, and promised he’d rescind the pit bull ban, known as breed-specific legislation, found in the Dog Owners’ Liability Act.

Vaughan MPP Michael Tibollo also helped the Chang family with reuniting them with their dog.

Premier Ford commented on the incident Thursday, saying his thoughts were with the young boy that got bit and his family. When asked if it made him pause on changing any legislation, he said “Nothing is going to change at this point.”

Dwaeji has returned home! Following my recent meeting with Tommy, I raised the issue at the appropriate levels. Dwaeji is now safely with Tommy & his family.

Thank you to all those who played a role in getting this resolved, including everyone who messaged me around this issue. pic.twitter.com/Amro1SpUYs

— Michael Tibollo (@MichaelTibollo) November 1, 2021

Alzghool says he was horrified over what happened to his son and would like to see additional regulations brought in to prevent this from happening to any other child.

“We have to have some regulation in the gyms, any place where kids are practicing to avoid these animals. We don’t know how these animals will react when they see these kids.”

He also hopes the government reconsiders the changes that let dogs be returned to their owners while their breeds are determined. “Just two days after this dog was released, my son paid the price.”

My son will suffer from this for his whole life … the scars will be like this forever. I don’t want other kids to suffer like my son.”

A report has been filed with Toronto police and Vaughan Animal Services related to this incident. Neither organization would comment further, but Animal Services confirmed the same dog the report was filed about was the one they released early last week.

The dog had not been seized at this point.