Video of Peaches behaviour (clearly, this is an aggressive and unstable dog) and her owner (just what I expected) available here. Calgary's Liontamers are going to rehab Peaches and send her home.
Update: Looks like this pit will be returned to the owner to maul another day. "Peaches" might have to wear a muzzle for a year, but I'm sure her owner - clearly a responsible, upstanding citizen (can you see Peaches abdomen in that picture? Looks like she has already had at least one litter) - will abide by the new rules...don't you think? Seriously, can you imagine the stupidity of an AC department that would release a dog that had to be beaten off a child by more than one person and continued its attack on the child even while under attack by several adults itself? I am going to make a prediction that Calgary is going to have a pit fatality this year.
04. 24. 11. Four year-old Haley Khidri is the latest victim of Calgary's generous dog bylaws. At around 7 pm Haley was attacked in her own yard by a loose, unlicensed (but Bruce, I thought ALL pits were licensed in Calgary??) "tan-colored" pit bull. Neighbours rushed to her aid, but the pit bull would not relent and the child had to be first placed on top of a car, then rushed into a house while neighbours tried to distract the pit bull by beating it with brooms and sticks. The pit bull followed the child into the house (have you EVER heard of another breed doing this? Can you imagine a Lab being this relentlessly focused on killing a child? A Collie? A Shepherd?) so the neighbours had to resume their beating of the dog. If this had happened on a day when the neighbours had been working and not available to repeatedly beat the dog off the child, the child would be dead. Does a child have to die in Calgary before something is done about the growing pit bull problem here? Man up Bill, you know this isn't working.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Pit attacks are on the rise with pit numbers???? Shocking...
from the Calgary Sun, January 4th 2010
Last month, it was a woman whose face was torn open by the family Rottweiler.
In August, three members of the same family were sent for stitches after their Staffordshire terrier intervened in a domestic dispute.
On May 22, a seven-year-old boy visiting friends was mauled by a startled 70-kg English mastiff after the animal was bumped by a door.
Last year was a bloody one for dog bites in Calgary, and while the hand that feeds sometimes gets the teeth, the victims are increasingly family and friends of the dog owner.
“It’s a cause for alarm — the most disturbing aspect is the rise of bites happening in the home and with immediate neighbours,” said Bill Bruce, Calgary’s chief Animal Services officer.
“We’ve had some really bad ones this year. We had one just before Christmas where a rotti grabbed a lady’s face — she was the wife. It was ugly.”
While aggressive incidents involving dogs remain virtually the same — 159 in 2009, as compared to 158 in 2010 — the number of actual bites recorded by Calgary Animal Services has jumped from 58 to 102.
Of those 102 puncture-wound victims, 54 were strangers, 34 were neighbours and friends, eight were immediate family and six were service providers like postal workers.
Even more frightening is the age of the bitten: 20 of the victims were children aged nine and under.
Bruce suspects the rise in bites from trusted dogs is a matter of poorly trained people — those who don’t recognize early signs of aggression and who fail to properly socialize and handle their pets.
“These behaviours don’t just pop up, and there are always indicators before an attack, and if they’re not checked or corrected it will escalate,” said Bruce. “Any dog can and will bite — it’s not about size and breed, it’s about people doing the right thing with their dogs.”
If children, friends and family feeling the wrath of rotten ownership is a scary trend, Bruce is also disturbed by the breeds doing the biting.
After years with Labrador retrievers at the top of Calgary’s most-likely to bite list, pitbull and pitbull-type terriers have suddenly taken a dubious lead, passing both shepherds and retrievers.
Bruce is concerned to see pitbulls as champions of the chomp because the knee-jerk reaction is usually the call for a breed ban — a tactic he declares a total failure wherever it’s been tried.
“You ban one breed and people just get another dog that’s got the same issues,” said Bruce. “Breed legislation doesn’t work because it’s not a dog problem, it’s a people problem and it’s getting owners to understand the need to properly train and socialize their dog.”
Last year, the Toronto Humane Society released statistics showing no significant drop in dog bites since a breed ban became law in 2005.
And Italy repealed a ban on 17 supposedly dangerous dogs breeds, including Rottweilers and pitbulls after evidence showed restrictions don’t work.
Instead, Italy will focus on new laws holding owners accountable for their dogs — including proper training.
Animal Services officials in Calgary, which still boasts the lowest bite-per-population ratio in North America, say enforced training may also help solve the current rash of bites in this city.
Bruce says he is preparing to take the matter to city council where he will ask that less severe dog incidents such as chasing and nipping be subject to enforced training.
Instead of a stand-alone fine for aggressive animals, owners will also be required to complete a training course on canine handling and behaviour. “It’s an opportunity to turn that dog’s behaviour around with the help of a professional trainer,” said Bruce.
At the same time, Animal Services may seek to increase the aggressive-pet penalty for dogs trained to be surly, whether as a guard dog or status symbol.
Bruce says better owners should mean fewer bites for Calgary. “There is absolutely no reason for dogs under the proper care of an owner to bite somebody,” he said.
• • •
TEETHING - Bited by breed group, 2010
1. Terriers (pitbulls account for half of total terrier bites) - 26 bites
2. Working dogs (includes Rottweilers and mastiffs) - 22 bites
3. Herding dogs (includes shepherds) - 17 bites
4. Sporting dogs (includes retrievers) - 16 bites
5. Non-sporting - 14 bites
6. Toys - 5 bites
7. Hounds - 2 bites
Last month, it was a woman whose face was torn open by the family Rottweiler.
In August, three members of the same family were sent for stitches after their Staffordshire terrier intervened in a domestic dispute.
On May 22, a seven-year-old boy visiting friends was mauled by a startled 70-kg English mastiff after the animal was bumped by a door.
Last year was a bloody one for dog bites in Calgary, and while the hand that feeds sometimes gets the teeth, the victims are increasingly family and friends of the dog owner.
“It’s a cause for alarm — the most disturbing aspect is the rise of bites happening in the home and with immediate neighbours,” said Bill Bruce, Calgary’s chief Animal Services officer.
“We’ve had some really bad ones this year. We had one just before Christmas where a rotti grabbed a lady’s face — she was the wife. It was ugly.”
While aggressive incidents involving dogs remain virtually the same — 159 in 2009, as compared to 158 in 2010 — the number of actual bites recorded by Calgary Animal Services has jumped from 58 to 102.
Of those 102 puncture-wound victims, 54 were strangers, 34 were neighbours and friends, eight were immediate family and six were service providers like postal workers.
Even more frightening is the age of the bitten: 20 of the victims were children aged nine and under.
Bruce suspects the rise in bites from trusted dogs is a matter of poorly trained people — those who don’t recognize early signs of aggression and who fail to properly socialize and handle their pets.
“These behaviours don’t just pop up, and there are always indicators before an attack, and if they’re not checked or corrected it will escalate,” said Bruce. “Any dog can and will bite — it’s not about size and breed, it’s about people doing the right thing with their dogs.”
If children, friends and family feeling the wrath of rotten ownership is a scary trend, Bruce is also disturbed by the breeds doing the biting.
After years with Labrador retrievers at the top of Calgary’s most-likely to bite list, pitbull and pitbull-type terriers have suddenly taken a dubious lead, passing both shepherds and retrievers.
Bruce is concerned to see pitbulls as champions of the chomp because the knee-jerk reaction is usually the call for a breed ban — a tactic he declares a total failure wherever it’s been tried.
“You ban one breed and people just get another dog that’s got the same issues,” said Bruce. “Breed legislation doesn’t work because it’s not a dog problem, it’s a people problem and it’s getting owners to understand the need to properly train and socialize their dog.”
Last year, the Toronto Humane Society released statistics showing no significant drop in dog bites since a breed ban became law in 2005.
And Italy repealed a ban on 17 supposedly dangerous dogs breeds, including Rottweilers and pitbulls after evidence showed restrictions don’t work.
Instead, Italy will focus on new laws holding owners accountable for their dogs — including proper training.
Animal Services officials in Calgary, which still boasts the lowest bite-per-population ratio in North America, say enforced training may also help solve the current rash of bites in this city.
Bruce says he is preparing to take the matter to city council where he will ask that less severe dog incidents such as chasing and nipping be subject to enforced training.
Instead of a stand-alone fine for aggressive animals, owners will also be required to complete a training course on canine handling and behaviour. “It’s an opportunity to turn that dog’s behaviour around with the help of a professional trainer,” said Bruce.
At the same time, Animal Services may seek to increase the aggressive-pet penalty for dogs trained to be surly, whether as a guard dog or status symbol.
Bruce says better owners should mean fewer bites for Calgary. “There is absolutely no reason for dogs under the proper care of an owner to bite somebody,” he said.
• • •
TEETHING - Bited by breed group, 2010
1. Terriers (pitbulls account for half of total terrier bites) - 26 bites
2. Working dogs (includes Rottweilers and mastiffs) - 22 bites
3. Herding dogs (includes shepherds) - 17 bites
4. Sporting dogs (includes retrievers) - 16 bites
5. Non-sporting - 14 bites
6. Toys - 5 bites
7. Hounds - 2 bites
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Ginger...finally
This is the story of Ginger according to the Star. Bill Bruce is attempting to bring Ginger to Calgary to adopt her out:
--------------------------
This is the story of Ginger according to the published court documents pertaining to the original "scuffle" which got her slated for euthanasia:
http://www.canlii.org/eliisa/highlight.do?text=ginger+buddy+pit+bull+huggins&language=en&searchTitle=Search+all+CanLII+Databases&path=/en/on/oncj/doc/2007/2007oncj306/2007oncj306.html
Some highlights:
"I concluded that the defendant’s dog “Ginger’ had in fact been responsible for initiating the attack on “Buddy” and for repeatedly biting Jody MacDonald and her dog. The repeated biting of “Buddy was sufficient to inflict serious wounds which were described by Jody MacDonald in her testimony. Further, this attack was made possible by the failure of Bernadette Razac to keep Ginger leashed and muzzled on the date in question."
"I hereby confirm and incorporate my findings of credibility and fact which appear elsewhere in this judgment. In particular, I have found that Ginger attacked and repeatedly bit both Buddy and his owner, Jody MacDonald."
"My finding was that Ginger was not leashed and not muzzled on November 29, 2005. Further, I found that Ms. Razac’s failure to follow her son’s instructions had facilitated this attack on Buddy. Had Ginger been properly muzzled on the date in question, Ginger may still have been able to start the dog-fight. However, the muzzle would have prevented her from repeatedly biting and seriously injuring Buddy."
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Trick or treating with Calgary's favorite dog breed..
Girl bit by pitbull while trick-or-treating
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
---------------------
A $250 fine? Wow, Bill, that's some serious punishment. And a newsflash - aggression isn't unnatural in fighting dogs. Idiot.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Pit bulls attack cat
http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100913/CGY_dogs_cat100913/20100913/?hub=CalgaryHome
Two pit bulls with "previous infractions" attacked a leashed cat in Calgary yesterday. The cat was leashed because Calgary's bylaws require cats to remain on their own property and it is my understanding that the cat bylaw in Calgary is strictly enforced. The loose, attacking pit bull bylaw looks to maybe have a little more wiggle room?
I predict they'll be released to attack another cat, maybe even a toddler.
Two pit bulls with "previous infractions" attacked a leashed cat in Calgary yesterday. The cat was leashed because Calgary's bylaws require cats to remain on their own property and it is my understanding that the cat bylaw in Calgary is strictly enforced. The loose, attacking pit bull bylaw looks to maybe have a little more wiggle room?
I predict they'll be released to attack another cat, maybe even a toddler.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
A pit bull nearly kills a child, the attack is hushed up but then the mother starts squawking...
What does any good pit bull propogandist do in this dire situation?
1. Deny the breed
2. Talk about Petey, Helen Keller, and the first World War.
3. Spout garbage about "the perfect family dog" and "nanny dogs".
4. First there was the "Decade of the Doberman"!
5. Blame huskies (if you're in Canada) and chihuahuas.
6. Tell us that every dog over 50 lbs is a ticking time bomb just waiting for the opportunity to kill a child.
And Bill Bruce has managed a 6 for 6, with a couple of twists even I am impressed with!
1. “Basically, we don’t have a definition,” he says. "It’s not an exact science.”
2. "Petey was an endearing Staffordshire terrier made popular by The Little Rascals.
The TV-show pooch harkens to a time when pit bull-type dogs were not saddled with the label.
They were a decorated hero dog during the First World War, Helen Keller owned one, and renowned dog expert, Cesar Millan defied stereotypes with his sweet pit bull, Daddy.
3. Once touted as the perfect family dog, they are now maligned in public perception as nothing more than a toothy, ticking time-bomb, indisputably, with the power to launch devastating attacks." (okay, these quotes are from the reporter, not from Bruce directly, but I'm guessing where she got her information)
4. “In the early 1900s the bloodhound was the devil dog, in the ’60s it was the German shepherd, in the ’70s it was the Doberman pincer, then it was the Rotweiller and then it was the era of pit bulls,” Bruce says (did he actually say pincer and misspell Rottweiler or is the grammar and spelling of reporters really going to the dogs?)
5. Bruce says huskies are behind the bulk of human fatalities caused by dogs in Canada.
"The worst bite I saw was by a 15-lb chihuahua cross which took a (chunk) almost as big as a tennis ball out of a person’s leg,” he says."
6. “Bites are worst than ever in Ontario since the legislation,” Bruce says. “If you do not train it, do not control it and it is left unattended with children or running at large, all large dogs can and will bite,” he says.
But my personal favorite quote from Bill doesn't fit in the top 6, in fact I've never quite seen anything like it before. A new trend, perhaps?
"The pit bull attacked, likely in a bid to offer protection, when its owner began throwing punches at his girlfriend.
His owner told city officials to euthanize it.
It was a done deal but heartbreaking, says Bruce, given the darling pooch passed behaviour assessments with flying colours.
“Her only offence was being a pit bull,” Bruce says of the case several years ago in Calgary where two people were bitten by their own dog"
--------------
Now, the only case of a pit bull attacking its owners and being put down in Calgary that I can recall showing up in the news occurred in March of 2009. The dog attacked the man first, then the woman, and the man was unable to free the woman from the dog's grip. The responding police officers had to taser the dog 3 times to subdue it. The only article still in existence that I could locate regarding that attack was this one:
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/dog-attacks-owner-couple-to-stop-their-fight_100172622.html
Dog attacks owner couple to stop their fight
March-28-09 9:05:49 PM by IANS ( Leave a comment )
Toronto, March 29 (IANS) A fight between a Canadian couple upset their faithful dog so much that he attacked them to end the fight.
But in the process, the dog bloodied the husband and his wife so badly that they had to be rushed to hospital for multiple stitches.
The incident happened Friday night in Calgary city when a pit bull cross got angry as it saw his masters fighting. According to Calgary Herald, the pit bull cross attacked its owners when the couple began shouting at each other loudly.
A police spokesman told the newspaper said the attack began just before 9 p.m. when the argument between the man and woman became nasty.
The dog first attacked the man and then the woman.
“The man managed to get the dog off, but the woman could not,” said the police spokesman.
“They were both bitten very seriously, all over their bodies, head, face, neck, arms, everywhere,” he added.
The bleeding couple were immediately rushed to hospital where they received multiple stitches for bite injuries.
Ed Karout, a neighbour who witnessed the attack, told the newspaper, the dog was “all over” the woman. “The dog was actually bitting at her and pulling at her.
“It was pretty bad.”
He said, “I saw blood all over her shirt. She was trying to get into the house. (The man) was trying to pull her in, and the (dog was) dragging her back out.”
He said he started honking his horn to distract the dog, but it didn’t work.
The dog was captured and handed over to veterinary authorities, police said.
More at : Dog attacks owner couple to stop their fight http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/dog-attacks-owner-couple-to-stop-their-fight_100172622.html#ixzz0yXiFSCEc
---------------------------------------
The dog's "only offense" was certainly not being a pit bull, it was savagely and relentlessly attacking 2 people for 10 to 15 minutes and sending them both to the hospital. And that dog was a male - I remember Bruce making mewling noises about it not being neutered and it being "dominant". Was there another attack that didn't make the news or is he just forgetting things?
So Alphie wasn't the first dangerous pit bull that passed Calgary's behaviour assessment with "flying colours"? Methinks Calgary needs a new behaviour assessment tool.
1. Deny the breed
2. Talk about Petey, Helen Keller, and the first World War.
3. Spout garbage about "the perfect family dog" and "nanny dogs".
4. First there was the "Decade of the Doberman"!
5. Blame huskies (if you're in Canada) and chihuahuas.
6. Tell us that every dog over 50 lbs is a ticking time bomb just waiting for the opportunity to kill a child.
And Bill Bruce has managed a 6 for 6, with a couple of twists even I am impressed with!
1. “Basically, we don’t have a definition,” he says. "It’s not an exact science.”
2. "Petey was an endearing Staffordshire terrier made popular by The Little Rascals.
The TV-show pooch harkens to a time when pit bull-type dogs were not saddled with the label.
They were a decorated hero dog during the First World War, Helen Keller owned one, and renowned dog expert, Cesar Millan defied stereotypes with his sweet pit bull, Daddy.
3. Once touted as the perfect family dog, they are now maligned in public perception as nothing more than a toothy, ticking time-bomb, indisputably, with the power to launch devastating attacks." (okay, these quotes are from the reporter, not from Bruce directly, but I'm guessing where she got her information)
4. “In the early 1900s the bloodhound was the devil dog, in the ’60s it was the German shepherd, in the ’70s it was the Doberman pincer, then it was the Rotweiller and then it was the era of pit bulls,” Bruce says (did he actually say pincer and misspell Rottweiler or is the grammar and spelling of reporters really going to the dogs?)
5. Bruce says huskies are behind the bulk of human fatalities caused by dogs in Canada.
"The worst bite I saw was by a 15-lb chihuahua cross which took a (chunk) almost as big as a tennis ball out of a person’s leg,” he says."
6. “Bites are worst than ever in Ontario since the legislation,” Bruce says. “If you do not train it, do not control it and it is left unattended with children or running at large, all large dogs can and will bite,” he says.
But my personal favorite quote from Bill doesn't fit in the top 6, in fact I've never quite seen anything like it before. A new trend, perhaps?
"The pit bull attacked, likely in a bid to offer protection, when its owner began throwing punches at his girlfriend.
His owner told city officials to euthanize it.
It was a done deal but heartbreaking, says Bruce, given the darling pooch passed behaviour assessments with flying colours.
“Her only offence was being a pit bull,” Bruce says of the case several years ago in Calgary where two people were bitten by their own dog"
--------------
Now, the only case of a pit bull attacking its owners and being put down in Calgary that I can recall showing up in the news occurred in March of 2009. The dog attacked the man first, then the woman, and the man was unable to free the woman from the dog's grip. The responding police officers had to taser the dog 3 times to subdue it. The only article still in existence that I could locate regarding that attack was this one:
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/dog-attacks-owner-couple-to-stop-their-fight_100172622.html
Dog attacks owner couple to stop their fight
March-28-09 9:05:49 PM by IANS ( Leave a comment )
Toronto, March 29 (IANS) A fight between a Canadian couple upset their faithful dog so much that he attacked them to end the fight.
But in the process, the dog bloodied the husband and his wife so badly that they had to be rushed to hospital for multiple stitches.
The incident happened Friday night in Calgary city when a pit bull cross got angry as it saw his masters fighting. According to Calgary Herald, the pit bull cross attacked its owners when the couple began shouting at each other loudly.
A police spokesman told the newspaper said the attack began just before 9 p.m. when the argument between the man and woman became nasty.
The dog first attacked the man and then the woman.
“The man managed to get the dog off, but the woman could not,” said the police spokesman.
“They were both bitten very seriously, all over their bodies, head, face, neck, arms, everywhere,” he added.
The bleeding couple were immediately rushed to hospital where they received multiple stitches for bite injuries.
Ed Karout, a neighbour who witnessed the attack, told the newspaper, the dog was “all over” the woman. “The dog was actually bitting at her and pulling at her.
“It was pretty bad.”
He said, “I saw blood all over her shirt. She was trying to get into the house. (The man) was trying to pull her in, and the (dog was) dragging her back out.”
He said he started honking his horn to distract the dog, but it didn’t work.
The dog was captured and handed over to veterinary authorities, police said.
More at : Dog attacks owner couple to stop their fight http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/dog-attacks-owner-couple-to-stop-their-fight_100172622.html#ixzz0yXiFSCEc
---------------------------------------
The dog's "only offense" was certainly not being a pit bull, it was savagely and relentlessly attacking 2 people for 10 to 15 minutes and sending them both to the hospital. And that dog was a male - I remember Bruce making mewling noises about it not being neutered and it being "dominant". Was there another attack that didn't make the news or is he just forgetting things?
So Alphie wasn't the first dangerous pit bull that passed Calgary's behaviour assessment with "flying colours"? Methinks Calgary needs a new behaviour assessment tool.
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