Pitbulls welcome back in De Salaberry

Pitbulls are again being treated the same as other types of dogs in the RM of De Salaberry.

Council decided in a split 4-3 vote to remove the regulations on pitbulls as they updated the dog, care and control bylaw.

They also decided at their April 22 meeting to keep the maximum number of dogs over the age of four months a home owner can have at three, and to not add other animals like cats or exotic pets to the bylaw.

Pitbulls are not actually a breed according to the Canadian Kennel Club, but includes a group of breeds with similar physical characteristics including American pitbull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, and American Staffordshire terriers. Those three breeds are banned in Winnipeg, Steinbach and Niverville.

The Kennel Club and Winnipeg Humane Society ask that municipalities not enact dog breed bans, but focus on responsible pet ownership and dangerous behaviour laws.

“Yeah, there might be some breeds that have more tendencies, but it falls on the owners. You can have a gentle giant of a pitbull that will not attack a kid or soul because it was raised right,” said Coun. Gaby Tétrault during the meeting.

“Yes there are studies, it’s because the pitbulls were used in fighting circles underground that have been giving them a bad rap.”

He also pointed to other dogs that have been considered dangerous in other jurisdictions, including rottweilers and dobermans.

The bylaw from 2014 does have seven pages detailing the process of declaring a dangerous dog and the consequences.

An animal control officer will apprehend any dog that is reasonably believed to have bitten someone. That officer can, at the owner’s expense, get the dog evaluated by a vet and will impound the dog for at least 10 days to determine if it’s dangerous.

If the dog is deemed not dangerous, it can be released with conditions. If the officer does think it dangerous, the owner can ask for a hearing before council.

Council can deem the dog dangerous if it has injured people or animals, is primarily used as a guard dog, or has shown a tendency to “pursue, chase or approach in a menacing fashion, persons or animal upon the street, sidewalk or any public property.”

The dog’s history would be taken into consideration, giving council leeway in deciding the pet’s fate.

They do have the option to release a dangerous dog back to its owner, but with a tattoo on its ear identifying it as such, ensuring it is securely confined in a way that does not harm the dog and with signs clearly marking there is a dangerous dog on the premises, and having a muzzle when in public. The owner must also inform the animal control and bylaw enforcement officers if the dog is moving to another address.

In the most extreme cases under the bylaw, the dog could be put down after the opportunity for a hearing with council.

Any dog that is impounded three times within any 12-month period while owned by the same owner will be sold or sent to a new owner.

Fines for interfering with the animal control officer’s duties range from $500 to $1,000.

Councillors Louis Courcelles, Diana Cline and Bruno Hébert voted against allowing pit bulls.

Hébert agreed with Courcelles’s assessment that there were other dogs known to cause issues, but pitbulls cause a lot more damage when they bite compared to smaller breeds.

“Blue heelers or others like that, they’re vicious dogs. I don’t know why people would want to own that, maybe on the farm but not in town,” said Hébert.

“If this would just be for out of town, I might think differently.”