Montreal woman fatally attacked by dog in her backyard

[MikePal]

Can't imagine having something like this happen in your own back yard. Sad story.

Be interesting to see how Quebec handles the issue of 'dangerous dogs"....a story like this shows the need to have a more robust form of protection for innocent bystanders.

Farid Benzenati says he was unable to sleep after witnessing a fatal dog attack on his neighbour.

A 55-year-old woman was attacked in Montreal's east end on Wednesday afternoon by what police describe as a pit bull..
Benzenati said he arrived home from work around 5 p.m., and as is his habit, had a quick look outside at the pool in his backyard.
That's when he noticed movement behind the fence.
"I saw a big dog that appeared to be playing with a large object. I looked closer and saw that the object was really big," he said.
His fear mounting, Benzenati moved closer.
"That's when I saw hair," he said. "It was hard to see, but I knew it was a woman's body."
He yelled his neighbour's name, but there was no reply.
"I saw blood, and the dog was still attacking her," he said.
Benzenati then ran back into his house and called police.
He described his neighbour as "very nice, always smiling" and said she lived alone.
The dog was new to the neighbourhood, he said. It was only in the past few days that he'd heard it barking.
Officers shoot, kill dog
Police believe the dog may have gone through a hole in the fence from a neighbouring yard.
"When they arrived in the backyard, there was the dog that was pretty aggressive towards police officers," said Montreal police Const. Jean-Pierre Brabant.
Officers had to shoot and kill the dog in order to reach the woman safely, Brabant said.
"Unfortunately, that lady was pronounced dead on site."
Brabant said it appeared the dog's owner wasn't home at the time of the attack.
Montreal police have now found and spoken with the owner of a dog, which they said was a pit bull.
Const. Benoit Boisselle said later Wednesday the 27-year-old man could face charges of criminal negligence.
An autopsy will be performed on the victim to confirm the cause of her death.
Plan for 'dangerous dogs'
The incident comes on the heels of a City of Montreal plan to overhaul rules regarding "dangerous dogs."
Last month, the city said it wants to come up with regulations for all 19 boroughs but wouldn't say if it's leaning toward an all-out ban on any particular breed.
A spokesperson for Coun. Anie Samson, who is responsible for the file, called Wednesday's attack a "tragic event" and said her office was following the situation closely.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/police-loc...506.html?nhp=1

[Big Gunner]

Ya the answer is get rid of pit bulls. That would stop probably 99% of fatalities by dogs.

[JBen]

If you google dog attacks in NA. People might be surprised to discover that many, many breeds.... Even lap dogs have fatally killed their owners...... I liken pit bulls, and before them dobermans, and before them German Sheppards to "black gun syndrome"..blame the thing, not the handlers.

kind of ironic, that earlier this week I thought of mentioning dog attacks/maulings/fatalities in the "what gun to carry while partridge hunting thread. Because statistically speaking more people are maimed/killed by dogs, than bears every year.

yet oddly, people don't feel the need to carry guns or shoot dogs to protect themselves, and yet more people are maimed by dogs.../perspective

sad story no matter what.

[terrym]

Que the pitbull are not dangerous regulars........

[terrym]

Ya the answer is get rid of pit bulls. That would stop probably 99% of fatalities by dogs.

Probably not 99% but would certainly save many lives.

[poltrojan]

yet oddly, people don't feel the need to carry guns or shoot dogs to protect themselves, and yet more people are maimed by dogs.../perspective

sad story no matter what.

sad, yes. if we are not allowed for self-defensive use of firearms. Then carry a 3 inch folding pocket knife as a "tool" and use it as a last resort of defense against aggressive dogs. better have it and not need it; rather than not have it and then need it.

[Wahoo]

If the dog caused the death, I hope the guy goes to jail. He knew he had an animal that was trouble and failed to ensure it got nowhere near people.

The lawyer of the man whose pitbull killed a 55-year-old female neighbour in Montreal says her client had tried to address the dog’s aggressive behaviour, after more than one previous attack.

Audrey Amzallag said her client, Franklin Junior Frontal, told her the dog had “attacked a gentleman on his jacket” outside a convenience store, and that in a separate incident the dog attacked Frontal’s cousin, leaving him with bites on his arms and legs.
The cousin had come “out of nowhere to deposit a bag” and the dog “thought that it was a robber,” Amzallag added.

Frontal sought help from the SPCA and in online forums to “avoid the dog being alone and more aggressive,” Amzallag said.


http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/pitbull...wyer-1.2941147

[terrym]

Clearly this dog needs to be put down immediately. I would sue the owner into a lifetime of poverty.

[vom Dufenshmirtz]

I liken pit bulls, and before them dobermans, and before them German Sheppards to "black gun syndrome"..blame the thing, not the handlers.

Perhaps I misunderstand what you're trying to say, but any dog breed capable of killing a human is a dangerous weapon and needs to be treated as such, this includes bans, licensing or whaterver. You're probably exaggerating saying lap dogs kill...
Yes pits, gsd, dobs, rottweilers etc are all dangerous breeds, esp in the wrong hands. If the owners cannot protect the public from their dogs, it's the government job to do it, unless we're to revert to wild wide west.

Terry, the dog was shot already.

[JBen]

You could have checked it yourself. But here's one compilation. Do we start banning chiiuawawas, daschunds and more......
http://images.bimedia.net/documents/...breed+2012.pdf

while Pit bulls and Rotties lead the pack. Do we muzzle, ban Huskys and German Sheppards as well....
http://www.dogsbite.org/dog-bite-sta...ities-2015.php

What about bites/maulings? So it only counts if the person is killed? Tell that to the parents of a 1 or 2 year old who is disfigured for life by a "lap dog".

Dont get me wrong, I'm well aware what breeds are the "most dangerous". I (my daughter) owns one of them (American Staff). He's one of the more gentle dogs I've ever known. In fact compared to the poodle we owned years ago, he's downright docile... His name is knuckles, or "old man". Gets along sweetly with our Malamute, schipperke, chiuawa, and my GFs Yorkie and Chiuawawa. Yes at times my house resembles a zoo with 6 dogs. 2 very large mean black dogs, and 4 lap dogs.

Weve also had a wolf in the house........

Most often, it's the owner ( obviously the case here), not the dog.
.........

The other point was in relation to bear attacks and people wanting self defence....more, way more people are mauled and killed by dogs every year.

raise your hand if your nervous around dogs.