The Meloche v. Bezaire dog bite case was released by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Windsor on January 13, 2005.

Sharon Meloche, then age 56, and her husband reside on a farm adjoining Anita Bezaire, who owned two large dogs including a Great Dane.

On April 10, 2003 Ms. Meloche was walking to the mailbox when Ms. Bezaire’s dogs began to bark. The larger dog attacked her and pulled at her pants but she managed to reach the front door of her home without injury. Later that day, she saw one of the dogs attack a public health nurse who was visiting a neighbor. Ms. Meloche went outside in an effort to call the dogs off and they, in turn attacked her. The Great Dane bit her on her left arm after knocking her down. The other dog bit her on the fleshy part of her right hip and then the Great Dane bit her on the left calf. Due to the assistance from the nurse and three men, the dogs were subsequently pulled off. Her injuries consisted of a large bite wound on the left calf, three puncture wounds on the left forearm near the elbow and several scrapes. In addition, there were scratches, bruising and swellings on the left thigh, a large bite wound on the right thigh, a scraped right elbow and scraped right knee. Ms. Meloche was required to rest for 4 months and she continued to suffer from pain and scarring. Post injury, she was unable to carry out the normal functions within her home, including cooking, cleaning and all other household duties.

The Plaintiffs hired a Windsor personal injury lawyer and commenced a lawsuit against Ms. Bezaire as a result of her injuries arising from the dog attack.

The court stated that the actions of the Ms. Bezaire were “outrageous” in that she refused to curtail the activities of the dogs once they were released subsequent to this incident. They remained at large on her property until November 2003 when finally they were seized as a result of an order from the court. These actions and her injuries caused Mrs. Meloche great anxiety, including being frightened of dealing with dogs in general. Further, she was unable to carry out her past hobbies, including cycling and walking due to pain from the injuries and the anticipated trauma in coming across dogs at large.

The court awarded Ms. Meloche the following damages:

-General damages for pain and suffering in the sum of $30,000
-Aggravated damages in the sum of $10,000
-Family Law Act damages to Mr. Meloche in the sum of $3,000
-Out-of-pocket expenses in the amount of $361.46

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