The investigation is ongoing and depending on the outcome, the dog’s owners could still be fined and other restrictions could be placed on the animal.
Sgt. James Johnson with the city’s animal control unit said the dog was returned to its owners Saturday night. It has no history of attacks.
“(The owners) were able to satisfy us that they were going to be able to continue to maintain control of the dog and we’ll be following up with them to ensure compliance,” he said Sunday.
The incident happened as Chantelle Forrester and her stepbrother Jonathan Shaw were sitting in the front yard of their Calder-area home when they saw a grey pit bull trot down an alley across the street.
Forrester said the dog went after a neighbour’s dog before coming onto their property. The dog initially appeared friendly and she started petting it with her year-old Shih Tzu, Oreo, nearby.
“I was sitting, petting the dog and my dog got protective and started growling. And all of a sudden, the pit bull grabbed him and started shaking him around and throwing him on the ground,” she said Saturday.
“Oreo wasn’t doing anything at all, just minding his own business, being protective.”
Forrester said she tried to kick the dog away but it kept Oreo in its jaws, shaking the dog around “like a rag doll.” Shaw tried to pull the dog away, and it was his father who grabbed the dog and pried its jaws open. That’s when Oreo was finally freed.
Shaw and his father tied the dog to a tree in the yard until animal control and police officers arrived.
The Shih Tzu was bleeding from its side and breathing slowly, Forrester said. The dog was taken to the vet but did not survive.
“He had holes in his lungs and internal organs and his ribs were broken,” Forrester said. “I miss him already.”
Forrester said the pit bull was a muscular, sturdy dog. It had no identifying tags, but the owner appeared at the property, looking for the dog, after authorities had arrived.
“I think owners that have pit bulls, they’re big dogs, they have to have them properly chained up so it can’t break loose,” Forrester said.
Shaw said he has a pit bull in B.C. and “loves them to death.”
[Idiot. I hate people.]
“They can be good dogs if they’re trained right, but if they’re not trained, they’re not good for anything.”
The pit bull could have restrictions put on its movement such as a requirement to be muzzled in different locations, to be penned in certain types of enclosures, and the owners could face higher licensing fees and higher fines if the dog gets loose again.
Johnson said the pit bull has showed no signs of aggressive behaviour while with animal control officers.
(Edmonton Journal - May 18, 2014)
No comments:
Post a Comment