One of two pit bulls who mauled a Surrey boy has been put down, and the city’s mayor is calling for renewed discussions on how to manage the breed.
The breed is banned in Ontario and people who owned a pit bull before the legislation was put in place must have their pet spayed or neutered.
In Surrey there are no breed-specific bylaws and a dog is considered dangerous if it’s bitten someone, has been impounded three times or is running free.
But Samantha Caplan, director of Vancouver pit bull rescue Buly Buddies, said the breed is friendly and is given a bad rap in the media.
“Any dog can attack,” she said, adding that they bite when they haven’t been properly socialized and controlled.
Raising a dog to be aggressive is tantamount to animal cruelty and the animals who attacked Sean Bajwa should be euthanized and their owners charged, she said.
“That’s the problem with breed bans … it doesn’t address the bad owner. Owners who show a propensity for trying to make their dogs vicious should be banned from owning dogs.”
-kristen.thompson@metronews.ca
