The large-breed dog that fatally mauled a young puppy in Vancouver’s Yaletown neighbourhood has a history of aggression, and was required to be muzzled in public.
The owners of the four-year-old un-neutered American Bulldog/mastiff cross were getting out of a taxi near Smithe and Homer streets Sunday afternoon when the dog ran across the road and attacked a five-month-old cocker spaniel named Mila.
“Before we could pick it up, the dog pounced on us and started ripping at my friend’s dog,” Kelly Tomkins said. “Her insides were all over. My two friends were covered in blood.”
The puppy, which was on-leash, sustained life-threatening injuries and died shortly after being rushed to Vancouver Animal Emergency to undergo surgery.Mila’s owner said the larger dog broke the puppy’s back and ate its stomach.
Witnesses said the attacking dog’s owners tried to leave the scene.
The attacking dog was not leashed or muzzled in the taxi, despite a city order saying it was “required to be leashed and muzzled at all times while in public.”
That order was issued last month after an “aggressive incident” with another animal, says Steve Simmonds, City of Vancouver Manager of Animal Services.
“The dog was not leashed or muzzled in the taxi,” Simmonds said.
Animal control officers seized the larger dog at the scene and it will undergo an assessment by an “independent behaviour specialist,” said Simmonds.
He said bylaw officers are collecting statements and interviewing witnesses and will forward their findings to the Bylaw Prosecution Office.
The dog’s owners could face a fine of up to $10,000 under the city’s Animal Control Bylaw.
