dog killed at Belleville dog park

[Toonces]

Dog killed by pit bull
Tiny pet's injuries so severe, owner forced to have him euthanized
Posted By W. BRICE MCVICAR, THE INTELLIGENCER
Posted 2 days ago


Tori Broadbent is not a supporter of "an eye for an eye" but she does want to see the pit bull cross that caused her dog's death destroyed.

Broadbent took her two-year- old pomeranian-****zu Harley to the dog park at East Zwicks Thursday night to socialize with other canines. While talking with friend, she heard growling and turned to see a large pit bull cross pick up Harley in its powerful jaws and begin violently shaking the small animal.

"I honestly thought Harley's neck was broken," she told The Intelligencer Friday.

Other dog owners in the park immediately intervened and began kicking and punching the larger canine to free Harley. Once the small dog was on the ground, Broadbent picked him up, ran into the parking lot and frantically called her veterinarian.

Lying on the asphalt, Harley's eyes were wide with shock and his tongue was hanging from his mouth. The small dog's white fur was matted with saliva from the attack and blood seeped from the wounds to his side.

Tina Sawicki, a friend of Broadbent's, drove the Belleville woman and Harley to Bay Regional Veterinary Hospital.

Sawicki said during the trip to the Bleeker Avenue clinic it became obvious the dog's wounds were more than superficial.

"You could hear the dog in the car as we were going to the vet, you could hear air coming out of its lungs," she said.

In fact, the pit bull cross had bitten Harley so badly, its teeth had not only punctured skin but had penetrated the small dog's lungs. Staff at the veterinarian clinic told Broadbent Harley's chances of making it through the night were slim prompting the 24-year-old to "do the right thing" and have her pet euthanized.

Sawicki, who witnessed the majority of the attack, said the pit bull cross was "vicious" as it shook the small dog.

She said the woman in charge of the pit bull cross seemed "pretty distraught" and told Sawicki she was shocked the dog had attacked Harley.

She said to me 'He's normally so well behaved. We have a muzzle for him and it's in the car'. Is the law not in place because these dogs are unpredictable," Sawicki asked.

In 2005 the Ontario government implemented a ban on the dogs. Pit bulls that were alive at the time of the bill's creation were grandfathered, but breeding of the dogs is no longer permitted. The legislation also requires pit bulls, when in public, must be on a leash and be muzzled.

Belleville police Insp. Mike Graham said the city's police force is investigating the attack and the pit bull cross has been quarantined for 10 days.

Police are investigating whether the dog should have been on a leash or muzzled as the dog was a pit bull cross and not a full-blooded pit bull, Graham said.

"I don't know the legislation, I'm going to have to look into it," he said. "We're looking into it."

The woman who was accompanying the pit bull cross at the park, Graham said, is not the dog's owner but was babysitting the canine. Charges under the Dog Owners Liability Act may be laid following the investigation.

Ironically, Broadbent is a former pit bull owner who said she used to defend the breed when people would criticize it. She opposed the province's ban on the dogs, she said.

Thursday's events, however, have left her shaken

"I see a big dog now and it's scary. I've lost one and they're like my kids. I don't know what I'd do if I lost her," she said clutching her remaining tiny dog, Suzuki.

Broadbent said the woman with the pit bull cross has offered to pay her veterinarian bill but it won't bring Harley back. She said though she generally doesn't believe in taking one life for another, this incident has her thinking differently.

"I'm not normally a believer in an eye for an eye but in this case.... I've had a dog that's attacked before and I didn't think twice about having that dog destroyed because once a dog attacks you just never know."