Pit bulls terrorizing neighbourhood, says mother

A mother whose two children were attacked by some neighbourhood pit bulls says municipal government and police aren't doing enough to protect residents from the dogs. 

"People are afraid to go on this road because these dogs are at large," says Lorill Zandberg. 

"I used to see people with baby carriages walking along. I used to see people running and jogging a lot. We hardly see anybody anymore." 

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Zandberg's 14-year-old son Jonathan and a few of his friends were biking down Yale Road East in Popkum on Sept. 4 when a group of pit bulls broke free from a fenced in residence and gave chase. 

"I used my bike as a shield," said Zandberg. 

"I threw it on them, started slowly backing up, turned and when I started turning around they ripped my shorts up," he said. 

And it isn't the first time a child from the Zandberg family has been chased — their 8-year-old daughter Hannah was chased by the same dogs this past spring.

RCMP say they want to help neighbours in the community but their hands are tied since Popkum —a community in Fraser Valley Regional District Area D— has no animal control bylaws. 

But Bill Dickey, a representative for the Fraser Valley Regional District Electoral Area says it isn't simple to adopt a dog control bylaw and it could take months before any changes are made. 

The CBC was unable to contact the owner of the dogs.