Grey Bruce Public Health is asking the public for help tracking down the owners of dogs involved in two separate biting incidents late last month in Owen Sound and Hanover, Ontario.
The first incident happened on June 23, 2026 between 11:30 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. near the duck pond at Harrison Park in Owen Sound. A mother and her son came across a woman walking two dogs on leashes. One of the family members was bitten after the woman lost control of the animals.
Both dogs were medium-sized and wearing collars and leashes. One was a mixed retriever with blonde fur, and the other was an unknown breed with brindle colouring.
The second incident took place on June 24, 2026 at about 7:30 p.m. outside an apartment building at 160 11th Ave. in Hanover. A person was bitten by a large black Bull Mastiff-type dog that was not with its owner at the time. The victim believes the owner lives nearby.
According to Grey Bruce Public Health, staff need to confirm the dogs are not infectious with rabies so the victims can avoid post-exposure treatment. That treatment involves a series of vaccines given on days 0, 3, 7, and 14, as well as an immune globulin injection.
Rabies is almost always deadly once symptoms appear, but the preventive treatment is highly effective if given before symptoms start, said Dr. Brian Hummel, a pediatric infectious disease doctor at McMaster Children’s Hospital.
Ontario recorded its first human rabies case in nearly 60 years in 2024, when an 11-year-old boy died after being exposed to a bat at a cottage in northern Ontario. Doctors published details of that case on June 29, 2026 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Anyone who saw the Owen Sound incident near the duck pond at Harrison Park is asked to call Public Health Inspector Christine Columb at 519-376-9420, ext. 1317. Those with information about the Hanover incident should contact Public Health Inspector Katelynne Moors at 519-376-9420, ext. 1334.
