History of attacks: Owner faces new charges after his dogs bite, terrorize bike-riding teen

WARNING: This story contains graphic images

A man who has been convicted in the past after his dogs attacked people is facing new charges after a teenaged girl was chased and bitten by three dogs in a small Saskatchewan community.

Amber Thibault, 17, was riding her bicycle with her brother in Ponteix, located roughly 64 kilometres south of Swift Current, on July 5 when she was attacked by the large dogs and bitten several times.

"The dogs ran towardsus and my brother James stopped and I kept riding my bike toward Main Street because I sensed that they were bad dogs," Amber wrote in a statement she shared with CBC News.

"The dogs chased me and were able to catch up to me and began biting my legs and jumping up at me."

Amber says she tried to run away from the dogs but they chased her and continued to bite her. Finally, two men intervened and scared the dogs away, allowing Thibault to return home home.

Since the attack, the teen has been on medicationto prevent her wounds getting infected.

Robert Charles Carpenter of Ponteix is charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm in connection with Thibault's bite wounds. He also faces one charge under the Municipality Act of owning an animal that attacked a person, according to the Crown prosecutor in Swift Current.

"It's an unfortunate accident.Somebody got bit, it was really unfortunate," Carpenter said. "[The town] took all my dogs away."

Carpenter says he has been told he can't have any dogs in his possession, and his son is currently looking after puppies in a building he owns in Ponteix. The puppies will be sold at a later date, according to Carpenter, who is set to appear in Swift Current provincial court on Aug. 7 to face the charges.

Previous attacks

It's not the first time dogs owned by Carpenter have been involved in a biting incident in Ponteix. Court documents show that in 2016 five dogs he owned attacked three teenagers in the town.

Another dog Carpenter owned at that time was responsible for biting aperson in Calgary prior to the 2016 incident.

Carpenter was charged and found guilty of two counts of owning animals that attacked a person under the Municipality Act. He appealed the decision twice in 2017, but they were dismissed and the dogs were ordered euthanized.

Residents afraid to walk in town: mother

Amber's mother, Anna Thibault, says there' has been a sense of fear in the town since Carpenter's dogs attacked the teens in 2016. People are afraid to walk around alone, she says, and her daughter is afraid to venture into Ponteix.

"I think people let their guards down after it happened, and then kind of relaxed a bit and now that it's happened again they're that much more guard up again," she said.

However, Ponteix Mayor David Scully says, there's no reason for residents to be afraid.

"All the adult dogs of Mr. Carpenter's are no longer in the town, and I think people can feel a little bit safer walking the streets," he said."The town is doing what we can to keep the residents safe."

Scully says the dogs involved in the attack have been moved between 200 and 300 kilometres away while the matter is before the court.