A young boy will be confined to a wheelchair for weeks after being ‘run over’ by two stray dogs in a park.
An afternoon at the playground ended in agony for Archie O’Neill, 4, as he played in Brighton Book on Sundays in the beachside suburb of Scarborough in Perth’s north.
It appears the dogs were running around on top of a hill without a leash when they sprinted down and collided with the boy.
Archie broke his leg after taking a bad fall when the dogs knocked him over.
“The kids were just playing, running up and down a hill in the park and the dogs just came around the corner and knocked him (Archie) over,” his mother Jemma Holcroft said. Seven news.
Father Ben added: ‘Archie is lying on the floor crying. I picked him up, held his leg and the longer it went on the more I thought he was really hurt by it.’
The boy’s parents claimed the dogs’ owners were defensive and showed little concern for Archie afterward.
“One of them asked me as I walked up to her, ‘Did he (the dog) just walk your son?’” Mrs Holcroft said.
And I said, “Yes, he did.”
Jemma Holcroft (left) and Ben O’Neill (right) comfort their son Archie who broke his leg after being ‘knocked over’ by dogs running loose in the park
‘I was of course quite upset at that moment and then nothing came (from the owner), almost mockingly.’
Dogs in Scarborough Reserve must be kept on a lead at all times.
Lawyer John Hammond told Seven News that dog owners might be less averse if they were aware of the potential penalties.
“Unless your dog is restrained at all times, except in an off-leash dog park, you are liable,” he said.
“You could be charged with a crime and you could also have a significant civil claim of tens of thousands of dollars if someone is injured.”
Archie will be in a wheelchair for the next few months as he recovers from a broken leg
Archie was playing at Brighton Reserve in Scarborough when the terrifying ordeal unfolded
Stirling City Council confirmed the incident is being investigated.
However, Mrs Holcroft is more interested in an apology from the owners.
“If only they would just apologize to the little man and the family because we’ve had a very difficult six weeks now,” she said.
