Wesley Grist spoke to the media on Sunday about the “hardest thing” he has been through in his life.
His son, 11-year-old Kache, was killed last weekend by dogs in a south Edmonton home. His father lived there with a roommate who owned the dogs.
“No parent wants to see their child like that, nobody wants to see any child like that,” Grist said. “Kache was awesome, he was kind, he was sensitive, he was loving. He had the biggest heart. He was perfect, he was beautiful, he was my best friend. I love my son.”
Kache was Grist’s only child. The pair spent spring break together after Grist drove to Osoyoos to pick Kache up from his mother’s home.
“We had lots of fun together, watching movies and stuff,” Grist said. “He was around these dogs that everybody is labelling as these monsters. I watched these dogs cuddle with him almost every day.”
Grist said his son knew the dogs from previous visits with his father.
“I’ve lived with these dogs for a long time and there’s never been an issue like this. I would never put my son in a spot where he was at risk. I love my son,” Grist continued. “There was nothing that gave us any warnings about this being an issue.”
On the day the attack happened, Grist said his son had just returned from the store with some snacks.
Grist said he was in the garage repairing a tire for his roommate when Kache handed him a Pepsi he had purchased for his dad and told him he loved him. Grist said his son then headed into the house to play a video game the pair had purchased the night before. Grist said he was in the garage for no more than 10 minutes when he finished the repair and headed into the house to check on his son.
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“I thought I heard the dogs making a commotion,” Grist said, visibly emotional. “I saw a mess and I didn’t know what it was, I didn’t see what it was, what I was looking at. That’s when I walked across the kitchen and found him.”
Choking back tears, Grist said he put the dogs outside and called 9-11 with the help of a friend.
“What I saw was hard, and I don’t even want to be talking about this.”
Grist said when police arrived, they took him out of the room. “About five, ten minutes later they came upstairs to tell me he was gone.”
“Now, I’m at this point where I’m supposed to be grieving and honouring my son as much as I can. And now there’s all this anger and all this stuff that’s developed from all of this media attention.”
Grist said he hasn’t be able to grieve properly because of all of the attention and threats against his roommate.
“My roommate is grieving this too. (Kache) called her Auntie Crystal.”
“Most of these people have the most to say, have no idea what they are talking about, none of them lived in that house,” Grist continued. “It affects nobody more than me and his mom.”
Grist said the dogs have since been euthanized.
“I keep playing the what-ifs in my head and it’s just killing me,” Grist said. “People need to stop and just let us put him to rest.”
Global News has learned Kache’s father’s roommate was the owner of two Cane Corso dogs.
Police were called to the quiet southern suburb, where they found the dogs and the boy, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Both animals were seized, and they remained in the custody of the city’s Animal Care and Control unit.
The police have not said whether the dogs’ owner will be charged. They also said an autopsy confirmed the boy died from a dog bite.
Beware of Dog signs were posted at the home, and neighbours have said the animals were a danger and a nuisance.
The city has said animal control was called about two previous attacks at the home. There have also been numerous barking complaints in the past year.
Kache’s mother, Kendrah Wong told Global News he was one hour away from being picked up to go back to Osoyoos where he had recently moved with his mother, when the dogs attacked him.
“He was adventurous, courageous, strong, beautiful. He had a heart of gold,” Wong told Global News Thursday.
A GoFundMe has been started to help the family with funeral costs and other expenses has surpassed $28,000.
“The last thing I said to him was: ‘Come here, buddy. I feel like I’m never going to see you again. Come give mom a hug,’” Wong said through tears. “He came and gave me five hugs, three kisses and told me he loved me.”
A funeral for Kache is planned for next weekend.
— With files from The Canadian Press
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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