Canada: “I’d kind of been sitting on the fence as far as pit bulls go... But after going through something like this, there’s no doubt in my mind that they’re unpredictable, dangerous dogs”

CANADA -- A Westside man whose dog was killed by a pit bull couldn’t believe the animal’s sudden viciousness and relentless ferocity.

The off-leash pit bull ambled peaceably up to Norm McParland as he was walking his two small dogs. Moments later, the bit pull had Baxter, McParland’s Pekingese, locked in its jaws.

McParland and another man fought desperately to free Baxter and eventually succeeded. But the dog’s head and face were so badly mauled that a veterinarian recommended it be put down.

The incident left McParland badly shaken, and it forever changed his views of pit bulls and their capacity for violence.

“I’d kind of been sitting on the fence as far as pit bulls go,” McParland said Wednesday. “But after going through something like this, there’s no doubt in my mind that they’re unpredictable, dangerous dogs.”

After the Oct. 1 attack, the pit bull’s owner agreed to have his dog put down.

But McParland still wants to draw attention to his experience in hopes of convincing people never to let their guard down around a pit bull, and to suggest what they should try if they ever find themselves in a situation like his.

McParland said he had no sense things were going to take a terrible turn as he walked his dogs down Michelle Crescent on the Westside. A pit bull, having apparently worked itself free of a short leash in a neighbor’s front yard, approached them in a non-threatening manner.

“There was no sign of aggression or malice,” McParland said. “He looked as calm as a pussy cat, as if he wanted to be petted.”

But the placid demeanor changed in an instant, without provocation or warning.

The pit bull attacked Buddy, and McParland, aided by a neighbor who’d heard the commotion, fought to free the small, 10-year-old dog.

“We were hitting and kicking the pit bull, but it wouldn’t let go,” McParland said.

He then remembered something he’d read about how to fend off a pit bull attack.

“I’d seen something about pulling the dog’s two front legs as far apart as you can,” McParland said. “Apparently, the pain that causes to their breastbone convinces them to stop the attack.”

The pit bull did indeed break off the attack, but it was too late.

Baxter’s injuries were so severe that he was euthanized later that day.

McParland said his wife has long had the view that pit bulls were dangerously unpredictable. He wishes now he’d picked up his dogs when he first saw the pit bull coming toward them.

“Something just clicked in that dog and it turned into a killer,” McParland said. “Honestly, I don’t think he could have helped it. They’ve just got something in their genes.”

(Daily Courier - Oct 20, 2016)