Sandy Chartrand feels the second attack could have been prevented if the dogs, whose whereabouts are unknown, had been assessed and deemed dangerous following the initial attack last fall. That first incident cost her more than $6,100 in vet bills to save her 10-year-old dog, Kilo.
[Why would anyone name their poodle KILO? Pit bulls are frequently named KILO, as in "a kilo of cocaine"]
 |
| RIP Kilo |
The second attack was Oct. 31 when the two American bulldogs from next door, which Chartrand estimated weighed 80 pounds each, tore her 12-pound poodle apart.
Chartrand was also bit by one of the dogs in the second attack.
“I don’t understand why I had to walk outside with my dog every day with a baseball bat in my hand,” Chartrand said. “That’s what I did every day except for (when the second attack) happened.
“I’d like to see (the city) have more authority to have had them deemed dangerous dogs (after the first attack).”
Dogs that attack people are impounded for rabies control in humans under the pound bylaw, a city spokeswoman said. Currently, the same doesn’t apply when dogs attack other animals.
However, the issue of dogs attacking people and animals is being addressed in the proposed responsible pet ownership bylaw that will be coming forward to council. If approved, it’ll replace the pound bylaw, which originated in 1979.
Chartrand’s ordeal began last November, shortly after new neighbours moved into a rental home next door. Kilo was attacked on Chartrand’s deck seconds after she let him out, not realizing the neighbour’s dogs were in her yard.
“They were on him in seconds,” she said. “I was outside in my slippers and tried hitting them with a stick but that didn’t do any good.”
Kilo survived after a week-long vet visit that cost $6,153.
The bulldogs’ owner was charged and fined for various offences, including allowing both unlicenced dogs to run at large. He’s been ordered to pay Chartrand $6,100, but he’s missed at least two court dates and made no payment.
Chartrand has been informed by the courts the owner has until Jan. 15, 2013, to pay.
After the initial attack, Chartrand and other neighbours lived in fear of the dogs. On the afternoon of Oct. 31, Chartrand drove home and entered her garage, with Kilo along for the ride. She put him on a leash and exited her car when the second attack happened.
“I pressed the button to close the garage door, turned my head and they were running full force,” she said. “They were totally focused on him and viciously attacked him again right in my yard.”
Chartrand was bit on the hand as she tried to pull one of the dogs off Kilo. This time Kilo’s injuries were too severe and Chartrand had to put him down.
[This time, the owner of the poodle is at fault. It is absolutely her fault that she let her dog be attacked a second time and mauled to death. If your child had been attacked by a dog, would you EVER let it happen again???]
An Animal Services officer met Chartrand at the vet’s office. Because Chartrand was also attacked this time, the dogs were to be seized and impounded for 10 days. But when the officer went to the owner’s home later that day, the dogs were gone.
Animal Services would not grant the Winnipeg Sun an interview because the case is before the courts, but issued this statement:
“After extensive investigation, Animal Services was unable to locate the dogs. If anyone has information to the location of the dogs in question, they are asked to contact Animal Services through 311 ... If the dogs in question are located a destruction order will be sought through the courts.”
(Winnipeg Sun - Nov 16, 2012)
