A dog-on-dog attack on a relatively quiet street in Pierrefonds has left neighbours at odds with each other.
The owners of a female pit bull on Dollard Street have paid the veterinarian bill of their neighbours’ beagle which had some wounds and required stitches last Friday and they have also been fined about $300 under a municipal bylaw for allowing their dog on private property without permission and for biting.
Debbie Smith, who has lived in the area for about nine years, said while the pit bull targeted her family’s beagle last Friday afternoon, the most serious of three incidents dating back to late last year involving the same pit bull, she fears for not only for her dog being killed but wonders if it is safe for her children to play outside.
“I’m afraid for my kids,” Smith said. “There‘s potential for harm, you are never 100 per cent sure since it was aggressive against my dog. I am a wreck when I leave the house.”
A woman who acknowledged being the owner of the female pit bull, one of three dogs in their home, but didn’t want to give her name when contacted by The Chronicle, said the matter is being blown out of proportion. She said she has kids of her own and the dogs have played with other children attending birthday parties in the past. Due to the antagonism developing over their dogs, the woman said her family plans to move out of the Dollard Street home have rented for the past two years.
“We are leaving very soon, there’s nothing else I can do,” she said. “I don’t want to argue with my neighbours.”
She said her dog is muzzled when taken for a walk but the canine made her way outside after nudging a door that was left ajar. “My dog just wanted to go for a walk,” she said, adding her dog is family oriented and friendly with kids. “I’m not contesting (the fines or vet’s bill), my dog got out, but accidents happen.”
The pit bull owner can’t afford at this time to have her dog, which had puppies not long ago, neutered or to be build a new fence around the backyard. She said the pit bull breed has “a bad name” but it is how you raise them that matters. “They don’t growl or do anything to kids,” she said.
Currently, there is a small flimsy fence with cedar hedges around the property, which also has a daycare as a neighbour, Smith said.
“We are not zeroing in on a breed but the responsibilities of the dog owner,” Smith said. “Lock them up so the public is not in danger.”
Neighbours at odds over dogs
Neighbours at odds over dogs
- Published on November 25th, 2009
- Published on Febuary 6th, 2010
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Albert Kramberger
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Comments
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- Angela
- - February 10th, 2010 at 11:46:22
A female dog is 'spayed' not 'neutered'.
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- Stella Morrissette
- - February 8th, 2010 at 11:15:18
I think we all have read Karen Leroux opinion'S, 1 would have been enough.
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- Pit Bull Positive
- - February 8th, 2010 at 11:15:11
Why would you fear for children? There is a huge difference between dog aggression and human aggression. Just because a dog bites another dog does not increase the odds of it biting a human. In all honesty a true APBT is less apt to bite a child than an English Cocker Spaniel and that information can be looked up. This is how the fear and hysteria spreads and myths are perpetuated about this particular breed. Yes there are more stories concerning them in the news,but no one wants to hear the story about their neighbors lab mauling a child. But if the utterance of the words "pit bull" are heard its much more news worthy. I have ben a responsible educated owner of the breed for nearly 24 years and in that time I've been bitten by none of the APBT's but by a several other breeds I have encountered. I also volunteer at several shelters where Ive never been bitten by any. Other volunteer shelter workers will tell you the same thing. It's easy to fear something you don't understand and although the fight was unfortunate I can't help but think if this fight involved 2 dogs of any other breed than an APBT it wouldnt even make the news.
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- PHYLLIS MASS CARTER
- - February 8th, 2010 at 11:15:04
If I have my history right, pit bulls exist because human beings created them out of other breeds. The dogs were bred to fight and tear and kill. It is not the fault of pit bulls that they are bred with these dangerous characteristics,. The people who breed them are the villains of the piece. But that does not mean that society has to tolerate what they do. It has to stop. People did this and people have to stop breeding pit bulls. Those who are already here must be neutered and kept away from other dogs and people until this ugly situation resolves itself. It has to stop ! Phyllis Mass Carter
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