Following the tragic death of an elderly Calgary woman after being mauled by pit bull-type dogs, community concerns were reignited around ownership of the breed. .Police officers were called to the community of Capitol Hill on Sunday afternoon after 86-year-old Betty Ann (Rusty) Williams was attacked by three dogs, identified as a North American pit bull terrier mix, a North American Staffordshire mix and an American pit bull. .Williams was taken to hospital by EMS where she later died. .Her death renewed calls from some for a ban on pit bull ownership. ."The state must forcibly ban, confiscate, and euthanize all pit bulls. Not fit to live around humans," tweeted @TheYungCatholic with a link to coverage of the William's tragic death. .Wikipedia has a running list of fatalities related to dog attacks in Canada. It's unknown how accurate the count is, but according to references listed on the site, there have been 29 deaths reported between 2000 and 2021, mostly involving children under the age of 8 years old. .Several pit bull attacks happened in Calgary over the years..In June 2019, a woman was injured after four pit bull-type dogs attacked her and her dog. An 18-month-old was mauled by a pit bull-type dog outside a Langdon, AB home in January 2016. In June 2016, an officer executing a drug bust warrant at a home was attacked and injured by a pit bull-type dog. A five-year-old boy suffered facial injuries after a pit bull attack in September 2015. .Calgary pit bull advocate Chantelle Mackney launched Justice for Bullies (JFB), a non-profit society founded in 2014, consisting of a team with more than 15 years experience advocating for breed neutral legislation and responsible dog ownership. ."We play an active role in encouraging breed neutral legislation in at least 10 jurisdictions in Alberta and British Columbia," said a statement on the group's website. .Breed-specific legislation (BSL) is legislation aimed at specific types of dogs in an attempt to reduce instances of dog bites and attacks.."Often, BSL is implemented as a reaction to one or two recent and highly publicized serious attacks in the area," said the site. ."Politicians feel that they must be seen to be doing something to protect public safety. The media jumps on board very quickly and often points out additional incidents involving similar breeds (or dogs that might be that breed), at the same time blatantly ignoring or minimizing attacks by other breeds.".BSL restrictions can range from muzzling and restricted leash lengths for the specific breed, special tags and mandatory micro-chipping or insurance requirements to the outright banning of a breed from a jurisdiction, as was implemented in the city of Winnipeg, MB and in the province of Ontario. ."Breed specific legislation is not evidence-based and lacks support by reputable academic and professional groups," said JFB.."In fact, it is very difficult to find an organization in animal welfare, veterinary medicine, animal behaviour, law, or public health that will support these kinds of laws." .The site links to several animal associations with statements against the use of legislation that singles out a particular breed including the BC SPCA and the ASPCA..Mackney, a certified professional dog trainer who said she has worked with several different dog breeds, said she believes the media plays a "key role" in the stigma of pit bulls.."Fear sells and the way the media jumps on reporting these types of incidents just continues to fuel the stigma around labelling this breed as 'bad,' said Mackney. ."The way the media reports these rare instances makes it look like it's a larger issue. We need to stop the debate. This is about a family in mourning and we are taking away from that by turning it into a war on pit bulls." .Mackney said each dog is an individual. ."Unfortunately people label dogs all good or all bad, but all dogs have their own individual behaviour and temperament." .Mackney told the Western Standard the most important advice she can give to anyone looking to bring a dog into a family would be the same for any breed; "do your research on the dog."."Make sure you are not setting the dog up to fail," she said.."Make sure you are getting your dog from ethical sources. Get on top of behavioural issues early. Make sure you look into dog training. Know the needs of your dog and ensure they have positive early exposure to children." .As for those looking to get a pit bull, Mackney said, "know your dog will be under scrutiny." ."There are a lot more obstacles to overcome with this type of dog ownership including the fact that many people will be afraid of the dog based on what it looks like, no matter what.".Mackney said being educated is the best way to prevent dog bites and dog-bite related fatalities. .According to a study conducted from 2000-2009 published in the Journal of the American Veteninary Medical Association, seven controllable factors were identified in dog bite-related fatalities. Four or more of these factors were present in more than 80% of cases. .Factors include:.Lack of supervisionLack of familiar relationship between the victim and the dogFailure to spay or neuter the dogVictim has a compromised ability to manage interaction with dog(s)Dog was kept as a resident, not a family dogOwner mismanagementNeglect or abuse.When asked if the Alberta government would intervene and impose any pet-owner bylaws or legislation, Scott Johnston, press secretary, Municipal Affairs, told the Western Standard it is up to municipalities to regulate animals..“Municipalities have authority under the Municipal Government Act to pass bylaws to regulate, control and issue licenses for wild and domestic animals and activities in relation to them," said Johnston..“The City of Calgary has a Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw which regulates dogs in the municipality. Dog owners are responsible to comply with the requirements of this bylaw..“Residents must report incidents or bylaw infractions involving aggressive dogs immediately to the City of Calgary.”.The City of Calgary released a lengthy survey in the summer of 2020 polling residents before bringing in its Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw (RPOB) in the spring of 2021..The poll included several questions mentioning pit bulls as "nuisance dogs." More than 100,000 people responded to the poll with an overwhelming majority against creating rules that single out a specific dog breed..The current RPOB in Calgary does not mention any specific breed of dog in the regulations..In Canada, the federal government does not regulate pit bull-type dogs, however, some provincial and municipal governments have introduced breed-specific legislation banning or restricting the dogs..According to the Ban Pit Bulls website, there are restrictions or bans on pit bulls in hundreds of towns and cities across BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador..In 2005, Ontario prohibited pit bull ownership including the banning of any dog with similar characteristics..In November 2021, the provinces eased those regulations related to the ban, allowing seized dogs resembling the prohibited breed to be released pending investigation..Winnipeg introduced a ban in 2013 on all dogs having the appearance and physical characteristics of American pit bull Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers and American Staffordshire Terriers.
