Online ads point to dogfighting rings in Calgary area

By Deborah Tetley, Postmedia News November 5, 2010 12:03 AM

CALGARY — A spike in online ads for “bully” dogs described as fearless aggressive monsters, coupled with canines turning up with strange scars and missing ears, has animal welfare officials fearing underground dogfighting rings are popping up in the Calgary area.
In the past six months the Calgary Humane Society has seen at least three large breed dogs surrendered to the shelter with unexplained injuries, including a pit bull with a massive cut to her face and such serious injuries to one eye that it had to be removed.
“They have scratches and bites and scrapes and they come in looking a little rough,” Desiree Arsenault, a spokeswoman for the humane society said Thursday. “At the very least they’ve been in a dogfight and it’s possible they have been involved in illegal dogfighting.”
While no dogfighting rings have been discovered within the city, Calgary’s bylaw boss says he’s received several tips in the past six months there is one operating on the southern edge of the city.
If that’s the case it won’t be long before the underground rings — where dogs fight other dogs for “sport” in front of spectators, pop up in other locations, said Bill Bruce, director of animal and bylaw services.
“We need to get on this because it’s only a matter of time before they try to set up a ring for their filthy activities here in the city,” he said.
Arsenault and Bruce say the proliferation of online ads in which Alberta breeders describe the dogs as Xtreme, ferocious, monstrous, aggressive and with champion blood lines is proof that such breeds as pit bulls, mastiffs and a popular guard dog breed called Cane Corso, are being bred to fight.
“Whenever we see an ad advertising how big the dog’s head is, that is fight lingo,” said Bruce.
“The bigger the head the bigger the jaw so the more powerful the dog’s going to be and ultimately be a better fighter.”
The humane society is reportedly working with the local online advertising website Kijiji to scrutinize and remove ads that contain “red flag words.”

“When there’s a suspicion that we’re dealing with such ads where a poster might be trading a dog for the purpose of fighting, we’re going to take down the ad,” Christian Jasserand, head of the Kijiji’s customer support, told the National Post.
Bruce and Arsenault say it’s also possible that the dogs being bred in Alberta are being shipped to fight in the U.S.
Calgary Herald
dtetley@calgaryherald.com

Monday, November 1, 2010

Trick or treating with Calgary's favorite dog breed..

Girl bit by pitbull while trick-or-treating

By BILL KAUFMANN, QMI Agency

Last Updated: November 1, 2010 8:52pm

CALGARY - Before trick-or-treating 10-year-old Aishlyn Fairweather had a chance to taste any Halloween candy, a neighbour’s pit bull sank its teeth into her.
Dressed as a zombie, Fairweather said she was meeting with friends outside her home on Covehaven Gardens N.E. just before collecting treats when she was attacked by what initially seemed like a phantom pit bull.
“All of a sudden, I feel a hard pain rushing through my hand and up into my arm -- I didn’t know what was happening,” said Fairweather, adding she was on the sidewalk with two other girls near the dog’s home.
“I’m bleeding, I look behind me and there’s a dog...everybody started screaming.”
The girl said the dog bit her twice on the right hand before an off-duty firefighter neighbour scared off the animal.
Her mom, Doris, said the dog has been a problem for neighbours in the past and apparently ran out of an open garage door and attacked.
“It’s a good thing a baby didn’t get bitten -- fortunately, Aishlyn’s a tall girl,” said the mom.
“It’s sad pet owners aren’t more responsible.”
She said the pit bull’s owners grabbed their dog and drove off immediately after the incident without checking on the damage their pet had caused.
Fairweather said when she went to purchase some painkillers for her daughter at a nearby pharmacy, she was surprised to encounter one of the dog’s owners there.
“I said ‘Your dog bit my daughter,’” she said, adding the woman apologized and offered to pay for the medicine.
Aishlyn suffered minor cuts to her hand.
Last year, the girl was sidelined from trick-or-treating by a bout of H1N1 flu and was unable to go to a single door on Sunday, said her mom.
“She was so excited to go out and then this happens,” she said.
Two-year-old pit bull Titan broke through a barrier and lunged toward a reporter who’d just been allowed into its owner’s home on Monday.
But a couple who share the house with Titan -- who didn’t want to be named -- insisted the dog was not aggressive and was probably “spooked” by trick-or-treaters.
The man said he’d keep Titan on a leash between the house and the car from now on.
City animal control boss Bill Bruce said the dog in question was a licensed pit bull whose owners are facing charges and a likely $250 fine.
“If the dog has bitten before, there’ll be a hearing,” said Bruce, adding that could lead to the animal being destroyed.
He said most aggressive dogs’ behaviour is a reflection of their owners.
“It’s very unnatural behaviour for a pit bull or any dog,” he said.
Both Aishlyn and her mother say they’d like to see the dog put down.
“She doesn’t want to see any more kids get hurt,” said Doris.
bill.kaufmann@sunmedia.ca

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A $250 fine? Wow, Bill, that's some serious punishment. And a newsflash - aggression isn't unnatural in fighting dogs. Idiot.