Gatineau deputy mayor says he’s tired of excuses for dangerous dogs
Gatineau’s deputy mayor says she’s fed up with owners of pit bulls and other “potentially dangerous dogs” who say they don’t know the rules governing their pets.
After a young boy was bitten by a pit bull two weeks ago, Louise Boudrias is reminding them.
“In this issue, which we are still dealing with, year after year, I think the least I could do was share this information so that everyone knows that a pit bull is not a little dog to take lightly,” she said in an announcement Friday.
Boudrias is sending out a newsletter to residents of her ward, to veterinary clinics, and to pet supply stores.
She says the action comes in part because a pit bull attacked a two-year-old boy in Aylmer on June 22, biting him on the face and arm. Hugo Giroux was in his stroller. His mother was pushing him along the sidewalk when the dog ran out of the yard of a nearby home and attacked him.
Hugo was taken to hospital where he required stitches to his upper lip, cheek and wrist.
The dog has been euthanized and police laid charges against its owner.
Boudrias says in her newsletter that owners must sterilize pit bulls and similar dogs, have their animals vaccinated against rabies, and have them identified with a microchip or an identification tattoo. The owner and dog must pass an obedience course from a recognized trainer.
As well, it is illegal for any potentially dangerous dog to go into a city park, a city playground, a recreational trail or a dog park in Gatineau.
Last year there were 33 attacks by dogs classed as dangerous breeds in Gatineau. The city laid 216 charges against owners.