"We know the owner and still have the dog in quarantine," city spokesperson Ann Lamanes said in an email. She would not release the owner's name, citing legal issues.
Lamanes told CBC News that the city and animal control are waiting until after July 19 to make a euthanasia decision and release more information about the dog.
That's the last day the provincial Ministry of Health has instructed the city to keep the dog for rabies observation.
There have been conflicting reports about Matthew Brigmantas' death on July 9. Many presumed at the outset that the dog attack killed him, but police announced the day after he was found that that wasn't the case.
The dog didn't kill Brigmantas, regional coroner Dr. Jack Stanborough previously told CBC News, but it definitely did attack him, he said.
"There obviously was a dog attack," Stanborough said. "There are some injuries." Multiple eyewitnesses also reported that the dog attacked Brigmantas and several people tried to stop the attack.
An autopsy did not reveal an obvious cause of death, so now the coroner is waiting on toxicology reports to figure out what killed him. That could take up to six weeks.
The dog – which is a Shar Pei/Fila mix – could still be put down even if it didn't kill Brigmantas, as it did attack and injure him.
Euthanasia in cases like these is determined, in part, on a five-point bite rating scale.
The scale has a ranking from one to five, and anything above a three, when coupled with other factors such as ownership or biting history, could lead to the dog being put down, Lamanes said.
That means that if the dog punctured skin longer than the length of a canine tooth, or the dog bit and shook his head, there's a possibility for euthanasia.
A [ridiculous] online petition to save the dog now has over 5,000 signatures.
(CBC - July 17, 2015)
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