Animal that killed dog in condo was a pit bull, put down by Animal Services

By News Staff

Toronto Animal Services has confirmed that the dog which killed another dog inside a condo earlier this week was indeed a pit bull and not a Mastiff as previously reported.

Jon Dunhill recounted the horrifying experience to CityNews on Wednesday of seeing his Havanese named April mauled before his eyes in his own home by another dog that had gotten loose and forced its way through his front door.

“In my opinion nobody should have a dog like this in the city of Toronto,” said Dunhill. “In my opinion they are not suitable pets.”

“This time it was my dog but it could have been a baby.”

Animal Services manager Elizabeth Glibbery said that when the dog was initially taken into their custody, their records indicated it was a Mastiff.

“Animal Services has reassessed the dog (Thursday) morning,” the organization said in an email to CityNews. “The results have determined that this dog is a pit bull as defined by the Dog Owner’s Liability Act and therefore, banned under the Provincial legislation.”

The confusion could stem from the fact that the dog may have been a mix, which many experts believe makes it difficult to enforce the pit bull ban.


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Glibbery added that a third-party behavioural assessment found the dog had an extremely high drive to attack other dogs and, as such, was subsequently euthanized.

In a letter to Dunhill, Glibbery said that locating pit bulls in the city of Toronto is “difficult if not impossible.” She noted that despite being banned in Toronto, this particular dog was adopted by the owners from a rescue outside the city and that TAS has asked Vaughan Animal Services to further investigate.

Glibbery said amendments to the bylaw that will address the city’s ability to manage poorly-behaved dogs and hold owners responsible for their actions are set to come before Toronto’s Municipal Licensing & Standards later this summer.

Toronto Animal Services also confirmed that the owner of the dog will not be charged in this case.

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