After the tragic death of a 49 year old woman the media has made the banning of “pit bull” type dogs a hot topic once again.
Polls regarding banning “pit bull” type dogs federally, provincially and municipally can be found on almost every major media outlet across Canada.
Despite science, and history showing that breed is not of relevance this topic continues to be something that sparks controversial conversations across the nation.
We rarely see discussions of bans when other breeds are involved in such tragedies. Given our history in Canada one would think that we would see more conversations about the banning of mixed breed dogs as they appear to be the number one offenders in Canada. But this is not the case.
When will we start asking what common factors take place and what we can do as a community to prevent these tragedies?
We average less than 1.5 dog bite related fatalities per year. When will we start asking how we get this number lower.
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Please note, breed was not assigned by pedigree which is currently the only way to do so in Canada.
*** Breed is based off owner statements, witness statements, media statements and visual breed identification.***
Mar 1983. Edmonton AB. 3-year-old boy. 2 Farm dogs.
Apr 1987. Vernon BC. 5-year-old girl. 1 German Shepherd X.
Jun 1988. QU. 17-month-old boy. 1 German Shepherd.
Apr 1990. ON. Newborn girl. 1 Chow Chow.
Jul 1993. NWT. 6-year-old girl. 1 Sled dog.
Dec 1993. AB. 11-year-old girl. 5 Sled dogs.
Sep 1994. ON. 17-month-old girl. 1 Maremma Sheepdog.
Aug 1995. ON. 22-year-old man. 2 American Staffordshire Terriers.
Dec 1995. SK. 6-year-old boy. 2 German Shepherds.
1996. Cross Lake MB. 3-year-old boy. 4 Strays.
Sep 1997. SK. 3-year-old boy. 1 Sled dog (Husky/Shep X or Husky/Wolf X).
Nov 1997. ON. 3-year-old boy. 1 Rottweiler.
Mar 1998. Iqaluit NU. 6-year-old girl. 4 Sled dogs.
Apr 29 1998. Stouffville ON. 8-year-old girl. 1 Bullmastiff.
Aug 23 1998. Zacharias Island, Hopedale Labrador NF. 10-year-old boy and 44-year-old woman. 8 Sled dogs (Labrador/Husky X’s).
Dec 21 1998. Cross Lake MB. 8-year-old boy. 6 Strays.
Mar 1999. BC. 3-year-old girl. 1 Husky X.
May 1999. Saint-Charles-de-Mandeville, Lanaudière QU. 2-year-old boy. 1 Husky.
Jul 1999. NWT. 2-year-old boy. 1 Husky X.
Nov 1999. Garden River AB. 6-year-old girl. Pack of dogs (4+).
Jan 27 2002. Woodland Beach ON. 4-year-old girl. 2 Labrador/Rottweiler X.
Mar 1 2003. Kingston Peninsula NB. 4-year-old boy. 3 Rottweilers.
Oct 13 2003. Nelson House MB. 3-year-old boy. 4 German Shepherd X.
Dec 27 2004. Maple Ridge BC. 3-year-old boy. 1 Border Collie, 3 Rottweilers. Killed by
May 29 2006. Wellburn ON. 77-year-old man. 1 Jack Russell/Collie X, described by authorities as Pit Bull/Labrador Retriever X.
Jun 15 2006. Sayisi Dene First Nation in Tadoule Lake MB. 3-year-old boy. 2 Husky X.
Jul 27 2006. Hollow Water First Nation MB. 2-year-old boy. 2 Husky X.
Nov 16 2006. North Tallcree First Nation (near Fort Vermilion) AB. 5-year-old boy. 1 Rottweiler, 1 German Shepherd X, 3 Unknown Breeds.
Jan 18 2007. Cumberland House First Nation Reserve SK. 5-year-old boy. 6 Unknown Breeds, both large and small.
Jul 1 2007. Smiths Falls (Montague Township) ON. 17-month-old girl. 1 Rottweiler/German Shepherd X.
Jan 30 2010. Canoe Lake First Nation Reserve SK. 9-year-old boy. 4 Unknown breeds.
Mar 22 2010. Pangnirtung NU. 4-year-old boy. 3 Huskies.
Jun 7 2010. Saint-Barnabé-Sud (St. Hyacinthe) QU. 3-week-old girl. 2 Huskies.
Aug 21 2011. Mosquito First Nation SK. 1-year-old girl. 2 Husky X.
Feb 16 2012. Airdrie AB. Newborn boy. 1 Husky.
Mar 16 2014. Springfield MB. 7-year-old girl. 2 Malamutes.
June 14 2014. Puvirnituq QU. 4-year-old-girl. 1 Sled dog (Husky).
Oct 17 2015. Ross River Dena Council First Nations YK. 22-year-old man. 4 Stray northern dogs (pack).
Jan 30 2016. Tk’emlups First Nation Kamloops BC. 78-year-old woman. 1 Mixed breed (police terminology).
Jun 6 2016. Chesterfield Inlet NU. 4-year-old-girl. 1 Northern dog.
Jun 8 2016. Montreal QU. 55-year-old woman. 1 Pit Bull (police terminology).
May 13 2017. Little Grand Rapids First Nation MB. 24-year-old woman. 30 Unknown Mix (northern dogs).
July 27, 2017. Kitchener ON. 41-year-old man having seizure bitten in neck by own dog. Boxer X Bulldog
Sept. 13. 2017. Riceton SK. 6-year-old boy. Alaskan Malamutes.
September 15 2018. Langdon AB. 50 year-old-woman. Boxer X Pit Bull.
Sources for further reading: