Pit bull owner gets chance to prove dog not dangerous

A Saskatoon woman is headed to court for a second time in an effort to prove her threeyear-old pit bull/mastiff is not a dangerous animal.

Cindy Davis’s dog Aspen was declared a dangerous animal on Dec. 1, 2016, after an alleged biting incident involving her dog and a neighbour and two small dogs on April 7, 2016.

A statement from City of Saskatoon solicitor Patricia Warwick said the declaration was a result of a court decision following a trial in September 2016, noting the Crown had sought a dangerous dog order.

However, Davis filed an appeal. In a July 4 ruling, a judge found Davis had been “unable to present a full and fair defence” because a justice of the peace had advised her that factors leading up to the alleged biting incident were not relevant, which may have prevented her from calling evidence that could have affected the trial’s outcome.

Davis said she feels an untrue stigma is applied to Aspen’s breed. Her dog is well behaved, she said.

“The media tends to portray the criminal activity owners make them do more than the good parts,” she said. “So society ... as soon as they see them, they’re like, ‘Oh they’re horrible dogs.’ But really, they’re like big sweethearts.”

She said her lawyer, Brett McRuvie, is preparing for the new trial, which is set for Jan. 4.

“All it means is that we’re in a position to run the trial and probably better suited to run the trial and hopefully providing our evidence,” McRuvie said. “Whether or not she’s going to be successful in the second one, we’re hopeful that we’re going to be successful. But again, it’s a new trial, it’s kind of starting from scratch, so we’ll see how it goes.”

Following the initial ruling against her, Davis was fined $250 and had to pay a victim surcharge of $60.

In her statement, Warwick said a new trial was ordered after the justice of the peace who heard the September trial “made an error.” The City of Saskatoon is aware of the upcoming trial date.