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The mother of a five-year-old girl is calling for regulations to be put in place by a First Nations community in Alberta after her daughter was attacked by dogs.
Ashley Jong says her daughter, Camila Hallett, was attacked on Oct. 14 and remains in hospital receiving treatment.
“I thought she was dying, I really thought she was dying. I thought she was dead,” she told Global News of the horrific attack.
Jong said the family was out in the front yard that day while they were cleaning up the home on Sucker Creek First Nation.
She said she briefly went indoors to use the washroom and had asked her 10-year-old daughter to keep an eye on Camila, who is autistic and nonverbal.
She said seven minutes later, when she returned outside, Camila was missing, setting off a scramble to find the young girl.
Jong and her 10-year-old went in separate directions to search. She told Global News that when her older daughter found Camila, there were three dogs “standing over her.”
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“There were two German Shepherd black dogs – they were large – that were licking her inner thighs and taking bites out of her,” she said, adding that a third brown dog was standing nearby. “My daughter and her friend ran to my baby, they threw a boot at the dogs, they fought off the dogs. My oldest daughter picked my five-year-old daughter up in her arms and carried her into the neighbour’s house because that was the closest house.”
The 10-year-old called her mother instantly, and Jong ran to the home.
Jong she said she performed first aid on Camila while she and the neighbour tried to call 911, but the calls kept dropping.
Rather than wait, Jong picked her daughter up and rushed her to the hospital in High Prairie. She was then airlifted to Edmonton.
“Within an hour-and-a-half, she was in surgery to close up her lacerations and make sure there wasn’t any internal damage,” Jong said.
In the nearly two weeks since, Camila has had to have multiple procedures, including skin grafts due to the injuries on her legs. She also has a number of cuts and bruises.
Jong said she’s not sure how much longer Camila will stay in hospital.
“It really depends on if the skin graft takes, how she heals,” she said. “We’ll find out in five days once they open (things) up for a bandage change.”
Following the attack, Jong says she continues to push for changes to regulations surrounding pets.
She also said Sucker Creek First Nation has reached out to her, saying they would identify pets and consider different avenues for dealing with any animals that are not claimed.
Global News reached out to the First Nation but did not hear back by publication.
Jong also said she hopes other First Nations will take their own steps so what happened to her daughter doesn’t happen elsewhere.
“Elders, children and families should be able to walk to their band office; we should be able to walk to our parks. I should feel safe outside of my house and I don’t,” she said.
—with files from Global News’ Erik Bay
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
