Dog that attacked five-year-old Saskatoon boy involved in three other attacks
CTV News has learned a dog that attacked a five-year-old boy last week had been declared dangerous in February 2022, but the city had lost track of the owner a year ago.
According to City Solicitor Cindy Yelland, the dog was involved in three violent incidents prior to attacking the child outside Meadowgreen Confectionary on March 22.
The dog killed a cat in 2020, attacked a cyclist in June 2021, and attacked another dog in July 2021, Yelland said.
“The Crown (City Solicitor’s Office) believed there was clear evidence the animal was dangerous. City prosecutors also did not believe the owner possessed the ability to safely manage the dog,” Yelland told CTV News.
At the time, she said prosecutors asked for the dog to be destroyed but the court declined, opting instead to place conditions for the animal that the owner was legally obligated to follow, including wearing a muzzle, being kept in an enclosure, getting behavioural training, and having regular appearance dates for monitoring.
Animal Control is responsible for making sure the owner follows the conditions of a dangerous animal order, but Yelland says they lost contact with the owner in March 2022 when the owner moved without telling the city.
“We were unable to locate the owner, leading us to believe they were transient. The whereabouts of the owner and the dog had been unknown until this attack.”
Following the attack last week, the city learned the dog had changed hands several times in the last year, and Yelland says it’s unclear whether the previous owners disclosed the dangerous animal order on the animal.
On Tuesday, city prosecutors issued a warrant for the dog’s seizure and it was “surrendered by the owners for destruction,” Yelland says.
After a mandatory 10-day waiting period, the dog will be euthanized, the city says.
Yelland says her office also expects to receive a prosecution request from the Saskatoon Animal Control Agency for the dog’s owner.
Correction
Based on information provided by the city solicitor, an earlier version of this story indicated the dog was declared dangerous in February 2021.
The city informed CTV News that was a typo. The dangerous animal order was issued on February 11, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.