Owner calls for pit bull ban after he and his dog attacked

Dear Editor:

My family has been attacked, and in part, I hold the City of Wetaskiwin responsible.

Last year, in late summer, I sent a letter to city council. That letter was a request to address city council regarding the Pit bull problem we have in Wetaskiwin – and a proposal for a bylaw to address it.

I saw evidence of this problem twice last summer – both times while walking my Great Dane, Elly May.

The first incident was a block from my home. Elly and I were walking past an unfenced yard where a pit bull was tied with a light rope to the back porch.

As we passed, the dog ran at us, to its rope's end five or six times, barking and snarling. The last time it ran at us, the rope broke and the dog ran out to us. Thankfully, I was wearing heavy boots, and was able to kick the vicious dog away before it attacked. And it was obvious to me that it meant to attack.

The second incident took place on another of our frequent walks.

A young man on a skateboard was being pulled by a pit bull on a leash. When the pit bull came near my dog, the pit bull pulled his owner off his skateboard so that the man fell.

For a few seconds, he lost control of his dog and I had to shield my dog from the pending attack. With a lot of effort, the man finally regained control and departed.

The response to my letter to city council was no, they were not interested in hearing from me.

Unfortunately, there's been a third occurrence.

My dog was playing with a ball in the front yard of our house while a visiting pit bull was in the yard next door. The pit bull noticed Elly, jumped the picket fence and attacked.

My girlfriend screamed and I ran out to find the pit bull had my Great Dane pinned to the ground and Elly was screaming horrifically.

I grabbed the pit bull by the collar and managed to choke it to the point where it let go. The fight took about three very long minutes.

Elly was rushed into the house then to the Wetaskiwin Animal Clinic for surgery, 20 stitches and two drain tubes.

After getting the dog to the vet, my girlfriend, who was shaken, took me to the hospital where I was treated for a dislocated finger, a cracked rib and numerous scratches and abrasions.

The owner of the pit bull was not at his friend's house next door at the time. And the dog-sitter did nothing to help while the animal was tearing the flesh from my dog.

The pit bull was not registered and whether it has ever had any vaccinations is very much in doubt.
It's under quarantine now – but only for 10 days. Then it will be on the loose again.

When the owner did arrive, he said the incident was our fault as we ought not to have had our dog in our front yard.

He said we misunderstand pit bulls, like everyone else. He said he has no intention of paying the hundreds of dollars that we've paid to our vet.

Wetaskiwin must have a pit bull bylaw similar to Ontario's provincial law.

This would require present owners of pit bull Terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers and American Pit bull terriers to spay or neuter these animals or transfer them out of Wetaskiwin.

No new pit bulls would be allowed in Wetaskiwin. Penalties would increase to a maximum of $10,000 or six months in jail for owners who allowed their dogs to bite or attack.

Owners of legally held pit bulls would have to pay a far higher registration fee and would be required to have them on a leash and muzzled while in public.

I keep hearing the argument that it's not the dog, it's the owners who are at fault. Partially, that's true.
But the breed is the biggest part of the problem. Pit bulls are built to fight and are prone to viciousness.

Prior to the enactment of Ontario's pit bull law, Kitchener-Waterloo had an average of 30 pit bull attacks per year. That number is now zero.

Winnipeg – prior to its pit bull law – 17 to 18 per year. Now their average number of attacks per year is down to one.

If it had been our six-year old that had been attacked instead of our dog, the outcome of (the incident) would have been far more tragic.

Elly and I are resting at home and on the mend. The owner of the pit bull has been fined under the provisions of the poorly crafted bylaw that is in place.

I'll present the owner of the dog with the vet bill that he'll never pay. And the next pit bull attack is on my mind. I wonder if the victim will be mine or someone else's beloved pet or maybe worse – a child.

Without the help of city council, there will be more attacks. Of that I'm certain.

All dogs are capable of aggression. Pit bulls are built for it.

Finally, my gratitude goes to the staff of the Wetaskiwin Animal Clinic for their caring and expertise.

Robert Behiels, Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada

(Wetaskiwin Times - Oct 5, 2011)