CANADA -- Toronto Police shot and killed a pit bull on Saturday just after 4 p.m. when it attacked a shih tzu and held the small dog down with a “locked-jaw grip,” police said.
Police received a call for an “unknown trouble” at a Toronto Community Housing Corp. home at Winchester Street and Rose Avenue in Cabbagetown, where they saw bystanders “screaming and yelling” while trying to pry the pit bull away from the shih tzu.
“The policeman was hitting the dog so hard with his baton that it flung out of his hands but the pit bull would not let go,” said Samantha Thornton, a resident in the area. She said the owner of the shih tzu was in “hysterics.”
According to Ms. Thornton, police shot the dog twice in the leg and when it still didn’t release the shih tzu, they shot it in the head.
“Due to the safety and security of the Shih Tzu, the public, and the other officers involved, the officer made the decision to put down the pit bull,” said Const. Jenniferjit Siduh.
Ms. Thornton said the shih tzu is alive and recovering from the attack.
Police said they do not know who the owner of the deceased dog is.
Craig Ashbourne, a spokesperson for TCHC, said the pit bull did not belong do a TCHC tenant.
Residents in the neighbourhood told the National Post that pit bulls were bred in the building. Pit bull breeding has been illegal since the 2005 Dog Owner’s Liability Act and owners can face a $10,000 fine and six months jail time for noncompliance.
The law permits pit bulls born before 2005, provided they wore muzzles and had a maximum leash length of 1.8 meters.
(National Post - Sept 26, 2014)
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