CANADA -- An Airdrie family is mourning the loss of their cherished family pet after the three-year-old Australian shepherd named Angel was attacked and killed by another dog Dec. 11.
RCMP Constable Francine Hennelly said the detachment received a 911 call at approximately 2:20 p.m. from Bonnie Baldwin and responded to a home on Stonegate Crescent in Airdrie’s northwest.
A pit bull living in a home across the alley from Baldwin broke out of its yard, going through a wooden fence, and attacked Angel.
Baldwin said she attempted to break up the fight with the help of neighbours and passersby, even hitting the pit bull with a rolling pin as its owner attempted to get it to let go of Angel.
“We were using (the rolling pin) to hit (the pit bull) on the head but nothing was happening and then I ran in to call 911,” Baldwin said. “Somehow my back door was open and Angel was dragging her backend, trying to get into the house and the pit bull came into the house. He hunted her down again.”
Eventually they were able to separate the two dogs after using a spade to pry its jaws open, but not until the damage had been done.
Angel was taken to the Airdrie Animal Health Centre by RCMP and Municipal Enforcement (ME) members but was euthanized due to the extent of the injuries that were sustained, according to Hennelly.
Baldwin said the veterinarian, Dr. Jeremy Mount, and the ME officers were extremely kind.
“The vet actually cried with me. He knelt down to tell me about Angel and it was amazing,” she said. “The two peace officers were incredible.”
The pit bull also died as a result of injuries it sustained, according to Team Leader Municipal Enforcement Lynn Mackenzie.
The pit bull was known to ME, according to Mackenzie.
“I can confirm that we had a report of another bite involving this dog,” she said. “However not enough information was provided in order to warrant a charge being laid.”
This was not the first time the pit bull had shown aggression towards Angel, according to Baldwin.
“We had our dogs on leashes and (the pit bull’s owner) came out to meet us in the backyard and wanted to introduce us to his pit bull. That was his way of kind of socializing the dog with our dogs, but his dog actually went to snap at Angel. He pulled his dog off of her,” she said.
Charges have not been laid against the owner of the pit bull for the attack.
“That’s still under investigation just because the nature of these attacks are very tragic for everybody involved,” Mackenzie said. “It takes a lot of officers and there was a lot of witness statements with this particular one so it does take the officers a while to go through (them). We’re still investigating and determining what charges will be laid, if any.”
The City of Airdrie amended its Dog Control Bylaw in July, adding stricter penalties for the owners of dogs deemed to be vicious and a more precise definition of what can get a dog labeled as a vicious dog.
According to Mackenzie, in 2014 ME dealt with a total of 70 dog bites. This year, from Jan. 1 to Dec. 14, ME responded to 25 calls involving dog bites. From 2008 to 2013, ME dealt with a total of 45 incidents involving dog bites. These are bites to either another animal or to a person.
Baldwin was also bitten on the leg during the attack and required a trip to the Airdrie Urgent Care Centre for a tetanus and penicillin shot. Damage to her home will require the replacement of some of her carpeting.
“I’d like to be reimbursed for the vet bills and the cleaning and I’d like to be reimbursed for all (my medical bills),” she said. “And I’d like to be reimbursed to have another Australian Shepherd. We’ll never be able to replace Angel, though.”
(Airdrie City View - Dec 16, 2015)
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