CANADA -- The two dogs that mauled a woman and caused serious injuries to her face and leg will likely be put down, said Calgary’s bylaw boss.
“Whenever we see contact with a human resulting in such serious injury, it’s invariable that we ask for destruction,” said Bill Bruce, director of animal and bylaw services.
“Whenever we see contact with a human resulting in such serious injury, it’s invariable that we ask for destruction,” said Bill Bruce, director of animal and bylaw services.
Charges are pending against the owner and a dangerous dog hearing will also be held, said Bruce, adding the owner has a chance to file an appeal.
The dogs are being held in quarantine for 10 days and will undergo a behaviour assessment. They will remain impounded until the hearing is complete.
The canines are now confirmed to be a pair of pit bull-types, one male and one female, about four years old. They were licensed.
Bruce said the 35-year-old woman was chatting with the dogs’ owner at the front entrance of the individual’s home Sunday in the southeast community of Applewood.
“The dogs got past the occupant. One we believe bit her on the leg, she fell and the other grabbed her face,” Bruce said.
The owner drove the woman to the hospital, where she underwent surgery. He said she will require multiple operations, including reconstructive surgery for her face.
“She’s in a very traumatic state,” Bruce said.
The canines were impounded Wednesday after investigators spoke with the victim, who remains in hospital, and the owner of the dogs.
Initial reports indicated the incident took place in Abbeydale and involved a black Lab. But a subsequent search for the animals turned up nothing.
Bruce said it’s not known whether the dogs were provoked, adding the behaviour assessment will turn up more details.
The owner will likely face a dog attack charge and a fine for a serious dog bite of $1,500 per dog, said Bruce.
He expressed concerns with the growing trend of dog bites where the owner is present. In 2011, there were 127 dog bites and in 75 of the incidents, the owner was there when the dog attacked.
“That should never happen. This is what’s alarming to us,” Bruce said.
Meanwhile, the Rocky Mountain Animal Rescue group is fighting to save the life of a dog scheduled to be put down this month.
The organization says Woofer, a one-year-old Akita, will be euthanized April 22 after biting her owner’s brother in the arm in November.
Owner Kellie Benkovsky said she was trying to discipline her older Akita, four-year-old Sable, when Woofer jumped in and started a fight.
“My brother got in the middle, he got bit, he got a puncture hole in his arm and it damaged a nerve, so he had surgery,” she said, adding bylaw officers were notified by the hospital and seized the dog the next day.
But she said Woofer never intended to attack her brother and that he was bitten by accident. She said both of her dogs have always been well-behaved and she believes Woofer would not have been sentenced to death had her bite not damaged a nerve.
(Calgary Herald - April 13, 2012)
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