In the west coast province of British Columbia, a judge has blamed a couple in the town of Kelowna for the attack by their own pit bull that left one of them with severe injuries.
In what is deemed as a first in the province, he banned them from owning a “dangerous animal” for three years.
On November 12, 2014, the woman and her boyfriend were engaged in a loud argument which apparently agitated the dog who attacked the woman leaving her with deep wounds, including a scalp wound , and a broken bone.
Not the pit bull’s fault, rather the owners
The judge heard evidence that the dog had been allowed to roam freely, and neighbours were frightened of it. One witness said she saw the man kick the dog. The couple and dog were known to animal control officers, and they had been given fines and warned about their dangerous dog.
The judge has ordered the dog be put down, but added the comment, “It is clear to me that neither owner has the personal characteristics that are necessary to rehabilitate Loki.”.
Lawyer Troy DeSouza, who represented the Central Okanagan Regional District in the case, said, “We are now left with I think what is probably the most important decision ever for dangerous dogs, which is dealing with the source of the problem, which is the irresponsible owner.”
The sentiments are echoed bya study reported in The Smithsonian in 2014, by Rachel Casey at the University of Bristol’s School of Veterninary Sciences.
She found that the owner’s attitude had a greater influence on the dog’s behaviour than any specific breed trait. The study was called Human Directed Agresssion in domestic dogs.
The idea is also echoed by well-known celebrity dog whisperer Cesar, who notes in his blog that pit-bulls were once favoured pets and there is almost no recorded incident of problems with them before 1980. In his blog he writes, “ it only takes a brief look at the history of pit bulls to realize that the dogs are not the problem; the humans who misuse them are”.
with files from CBC
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