CANADA -- Toy poodle Spencer was recovering Tuesday from a collapsed lung and severe injuries he suffered in an attack by a pit bull.
Spencer was running around the playing fields beside Sandwich West elementary school last Thursday when he approached a leashed pit bull who was with a woman and a man teaching his preschool daughter how to ride a bike.
The animals sniffed each and then, without warning, the pit bull attacked, said Spencer’s owners Andrea Esteves and Adam Hrytzak.
Hrytzak tried to comfort Spencer and realized his pet was severely injured when he saw blood. The couple rushed Spencer to an animal hospital where he underwent surgery.
A veterinarian repaired a collapsed lung with two puncture wounds, a broken rib, muscle damage to the neck and torn muscles around one leg.
While she worried about her dog, Esteves was also concerned for the family that owns the pit bull.
“The next time it attacks, it might not be a dog,” Esteves said. “Their dog needs to be taken care of. He’ll attack again. He’s a risk to the whole community.”
So far the veterinarian bills are $1,800. Esteves said the pit bull owners should come forward to help pay for the bills.
Legally, they are required to pay a portion of the costs, if not all, according to the Dog Owners’ Liability Act.
Esteves reported the attack to LaSalle police. Const. Jason Woods said police will investigate, although it will be difficult because the animal and its owners are unidentified.
Pit bulls were banned in Ontario in 2005. Some pit bulls still live in the province because they were “grandfathered” under the law, but they must be sterilized, on a leash and muzzled when in public.
In LaSalle, there are five pit bulls of the 940 dogs registered with the town. In light of the attack, the town will send pit bull owners a notice reminding them of the provincial regulations, said town clerk Brenda Andreatta.
Since the dog owner act became law in August 2005, one LaSalle owner of a pit bull was charged after the dog attacked another animal.
Instead of seeking destruction of the dog, as the provincial law allows, the town ordered the pit bull removed from the municipality or be destroyed. The owner and his dog moved.
To get a licence, owners of pit bulls must prove they have $1 million in liability and that the dog has been sterilized, said Andreatta.
The dog owner act says an owner is liable for damages resulting from a bite or an attack regardless of fault or negligence. A court can order a dog destroyed or at least muzzled and leashed while in public, even if it’s not a pit bull.
If a court finds a pit bull to be a menace, it must be destroyed.
The attack on Spencer might bolster the town’s efforts to rewrite its dog bylaws to require dogs to be leashed in public.
The existing bylaw doesn’t specify leash use. It says a dog must be in the care and control of its owner. Andreatta said a leash law is required to file charges against pet owners with unleashed dogs. A draft report of the bylaw will be available in the next couple of months.
Spencer’s owners said they often let him roam the playing field since they moved to LaSalle 18 months ago.
Esteves said she doesn’t think it would have made a difference had he been leashed.
“He would have been attacked,” she said.
While Esteves and Hrytzak are confident the attacker dog was a pit bull, the aggressive breed is often mistaken for different breeds, said Melanie Coulter, executive director of the Windsor/Essex County Humane Society.
“We encourage all dog owners to train and work with their dogs,” Coulter said. “Every dog has the potential to bite under the right circumstances. I wouldn’t be afraid there is a dangerous dog roaming LaSalle. The dog’s owners should come forward to help with veterinarian bills.”
(The Windsor Star - September 6, 2011)
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