"Panic and chaos": Vancouver dog owners not liable for gruesome dinner party attack

A Vancouver dinner party turned into a horror movie after a gruesome dog attack that left wounds on the cheek and forehead of one of the guests.

The details were recently made public in a BC Supreme Court case between Plaintiff Linda Evans and Defendants Erin Berry and Sophie Anderson.

Evans sought damages against Berry and Anderson. Their pet dog Bones bit Evans’ forehead and left cheek at the end of a dinner party in November 2017.

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According to a BC Supreme Court decision document, Evans was good friends with Berry and Anderson and had been around Bones without issue. However, the court case also details problems in Bones’ past with nipping at people’s ankles.

Bones was a rescue from Thailand that Berry and Anderson adopted in April 2017. While there isn’t a specific breed mentioned, the court documents suggest it was a mixed breed that looked like an Australian Cattle Dog.

“The nipping behaviour was thought to be related to his breed,” the court documents state.

There was also some aggression observed with other dogs. The owners tried to get Bones some help through various trainers and dog specialists.

On one occasion, Bones bit Berry’s father on the forearm, puncturing the skin and drawing some blood. There was a sandwich involved and this was an incident they believed was food motivated, as both Berry’s father and Bones seemed to be “both sort of going for the sandwich.”

No medical treatment was necessary.

A dinner party nightmare

On the night of the attack, everything was going fine.

Anderson and Berry were witnesses; for the most part, all parties agreed on the events that unfolded.

As the dinner event was coming to a close and friends were saying their goodbyes, Berry recalls Bones lying on the ground. She recalled seeing Evans “kneeling or crouching on the ground by Bones.”

Bones was lying on his back, presenting his belly, which is usually a sign that a dog is being friendly. Evans moved to give Bones some belly rubs. Berry recalled that Bones “moved up towards” Evans as she was doing this. Berry didn’t recount any growling or barking leading up to the injury or any time during the evening. Evans’ hair was obscuring Bones’ face.

Berry said Evans “was saying goodbye to Bones, and everything seemed fine.”

“Then I saw him move up and then her pull back.”

She then recalled blood as Evans put her hands to her face.

Evans said she jerked backward, “like, really quickly.”

“Someone came straight over to me. I don’t know who. There was a lot of commotion and, you know, panic and chaos.”

Evans also said that Bones “jumped straight at my face.”

According to the court decision, Evans never felt like her life was threatened, nor did she feel threatened by Bones before the injury. Evans decided to walk to St. Paul’s Hospital, only a few blocks from the Vancouver apartment.

Evans received several stitches and injections on her forehead and cheek. Muscle was visible with each wound. Thankfully, due to some cosmetic surgery and other work, Evans will not be left with lasting disfigurement.

As for Bones, the owners decided to put him down after this event.

In the end, the BC Supreme Court found that because there was no prior attack on this level of severity, there were no grounds for Berry and Anderson to be liable for this attack, and the court dismissed the plaintiff’s claim.