Kelowna

Another Kelowna parent is once again warning families about dangerous dog breeds after her son was attacked by a pitbull.

Jayme Bush says it's not just pitbulls, or German shepherd dog breeds that people should be aware of.

"There are vicious dogs that are bred for other things than family pets. Don't ever leave your child alone with an animal ever, it doesn't matter how nice and how friendly the dog is, there is a potential for any animal to bite."

While camping, last Saturday night, four-year-old Hayden was leaning on a picnic table, looking at a family friend's pitbull when the dog leaped at the boy.

The dog bit Hayden in the face, in two places. The youngster was rushed to hospital. They used 32 stitches to close the wounds.

He is traumatized by the event. It has caused him to loose his appetite and he is having trouble sleeping. His mom doesn't want this experience to ruin her son's love for animals.

She says the whole family is going to receive trauma counseling.

"We have my brother's little dog coming over (to play with Hayden), because I don't want him to live in fear. Honestly I would like him to forget this ever happened."

Hayden says he isn't scared of his uncle's dog Buddy, because he doesn't bite.

Dog trainer Laurence Ormond says although what happened to Hayden is unfortunate and tragic, this is an opportunity to bring awareness to the kinds of dog breeds and personalities that families might encounter.

"I think it is a little bit dangerous to label all of these dogs. I think it's better to take a look at the ownership of the dog and find out more about the dog in particular; instead of just judging and saying 'oh it's a pitbull that explains everything', because it doesn't."

Ormond believes that when a dog becomes dangerous for any person to be around it is due to its up-bringing, its breeding and training.

In 2012 88 dog bites were reported to the Regional District of the Central Okanagan. Here is the bite break down of the breeds 

• 20 shepherd or shepherd crosses
• 10 from border collies
• 10 Labrador retrievers
• 10 pitbull or pitbull crosses
• 38 were from unknown breeds

The pitbull that bit Hayden was euthanized without incident.