A Toronto woman who is facing multiple charges in a dog attack that caused serious harm to a child was previously found to be an “irresponsible” owner of dangerous dogs and was then told to leave her apartment, according to legal documents and her former landlord.
Patrycja Siarek, 38, has been accused of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and other offenses after an off-leash dog bit and dragged a child at a Toronto park last Saturday.
Authorities have stated that the attack resulted in life-changing injuries for the child.
Legal papers reveal that Siarek and a man she lived with received multiple complaints at a Toronto condo after one of their dogs “viciously attacked” and injured another resident and her dog in December 2021.
The two American pocket bullies were designated as “dangerous” by the city and were instructed to be muzzled in public areas, but they did not comply with these orders, as heard in court.
The condo corporation eventually sought a court order for Siarek and her partner to permanently remove their dogs from the building because their handling of the animals “made them a danger and likely to cause injury to other residents, staff, and visitors in the building,” according to court documents.
The judge at the Ontario Superior Court overseeing the case stated that Siarek and her partner disregarded orders to muzzle their pets, allowed the dogs to roam the hallways unattended, and “have shown themselves to be irresponsible dog owners.”
Even after an order was issued to have the dogs removed from the building, there was evidence indicating that the pocket bullies were still being kept in the condo, as written by the judge. In a decision in March 2022, the judge ruled that Siarek and her co-tenant’s lease should be terminated and they must leave the apartment.
Siarek’s former landlord, Sabita Singh, stated that this ruling was the result of her lengthy and frustrating efforts to remove the dogs from the building and regain control of her condo.
Before the case ended up in Superior Court, Singh mentioned that she attempted to have the tenants evicted through the Landlord and Tenant Board without success. She also mentioned that several residents of the condo building had contacted the city to report Siarek’s dogs, but no real action to remove the animals was taken until a court order was issued.
Even then, legal documents state that animal control officers returned the dogs to Siarek instead of confiscating them. Despite not being allowed in the building, Siarek and her partner brought them back to the condo, as stated by Singh.
Singh said the dog that attacked the child in the park on Saturday bears a strong resemblance to Capo, one of the two dogs that Siarek kept in her condo.
She mentioned she was “heartbroken” when she heard about the child’s injuries.
“That child is permanently damaged from this attack and I just feel so badly for the poor little boy and his family,” she said. “And it could have been avoided.”
Authorities said the dog was seized and handed over to Toronto Animal Services.
The charges against Siarek related to that incident have not been tested in court. A Toronto courthouse where Siarek appeared on Monday stated that there is no defense lawyer listed for the case.
