MASTIFF MAULS THERAPY DOG TO DEATH
PITT MEADOWS: Buttons dies from injuries after 200-lb. canine attacks him on patio
Everyone loved Buttons. The cute, little Shih Tzu-Lhasa Apso-cross, whose home was in Pitt Meadows, was known in hospitals, seniors centres and even the library as the friendly and comforting St. John Ambulance therapy dog.
On Monday, as they were preparing for the day ahead, which included visits to cheer up some of the elderly, Buttons and owners John and Yvonne McDonald stopped for a morning coffee in Pitt Meadows.
As Yvonne was bringing the coffee out to John, who was sitting with a leashed Buttons at an outside table at a McDonald’s, a Bullmastiff suddenly sprang at the tiny dog, savagely biting him and badly breaking his leg in the process.
Buttons was taken to the veterinarian, but by Monday night he died from his injuries while in the operating room.
Buttons’ owners struggle for words in describing how much everyone loved to see their dog during his therapy visits. Buttons put big smiles on everyone he met, recalls John.
“We would walk through a hospital and everyone would say hello to Buttons,” said John. “He knew where the cookie jars were.”
John said the dog that attacked Buttons weighed close to 200 pounds.
“Buttons is 15 pounds and he didn’t stand a chance,” he said.
Both John and Yvonne worry that the dog that attacked Buttons could strike again. “That is our concern,” he said. “He was truly loved,” said Yvonne of Buttons. “I am so angry right now. That dog could have attacked a child. That dog should be put down.”
“They are devastated,” said Dawn Lutz, owner of Ola Puppy Dog Grooming, where the McDonalds often took Buttons.
“Buttons was their world,” she added. “He would go all the time to hospitals, retirement centres and he got accepted into the library’s children’s reader program.”
Ridge Meadows RCMP have turned the case over to the City of Pitt Meadows bylaw-enforcement unit. And the owner of the Bullmastiff will not be facing criminal charges.
Kim Grout, chief administrative officer for the City of Pitt Meadows, said they have probed the tragic case and she confirmed the dog that attacked Buttons was a Bullmastiff, a breed that was originally bred for guarding 19th-century English estates.
A bylaw officer on Tuesday visited the home where the Bullmastiff lives, and Grout said the owner has been given an order listing some strict requirements for keeping the dog
“The dog has been deemed dangerous under the bylaw,” Grout said.
Grout did confirm the Bullmastiff’s owner had been warned before about the dog’s aggressive behaviour and it was supposed to have been muzzled when out in public.
But she said that when the owner went inside the restaurant, someone took the muzzle off.
“The dog had a muzzle on, and a third party removed it,” she said.
Grout, however, said they would only seize the dog if the list of new requirements isn’t acted on.
Leigh Ciurka, St. John Ambulance therapy dog program co-ordinator for B.C., said they’re grieving at the loss of Buttons, which has been a therapy dog since 2010.
Buttons had put in more than 1,300 hours of volunteer work, she said.
Young kids just loved Buttons, she said, when he would show up for their Paws 4 Stories program at the local library.
“Buttons was specially certified to work with children,” she said. “They thought he was wonderful.”