DOG BITE RELATED FATALITIES IN CANADA (JANUARY 1983 TO FEBRUARY 2015)
By Steve Barker
Here is the latest updated list of all human deaths caused by dogs in Canada since 1983. As of February 8, 2015, there were 37 incidents resulting in 38 deaths.
I have chosen not to provide the original spreadsheet. Instead, I have reformatted it into an easy-to-read, web-friendly list.
Please read and understand the following few paragraphs before reading the list.
Regardless of the fact that I have included breed in the list, it is crucial to understand two things:
First, breed identification is ALWAYS suspect. Breed information may be supplied by the owners of the dog, by the victims, by animal control personnel, by police officers, by neighbours, or by members of the media. It is NEVER reliable.
Second, even if breed identifications were accurate, the breed is far less important than the circumstances.
Here’s an example:
The majority of these attacks are blamed on “huskies” or “sled dogs”. So is any dog up north that has some husky characteristics going to be called a husky? In addition, the term “sled dog” (and “farm dog” in an early incident) is a description of function, not breed, so those dogs could literally be anything that can pull a sled.
When you consider that a large number of these incidents occurred in northern communities with little or no animal control, sometimes on First Nations reserves, is it surprising that the dogs involved are northern types of dogs?
As you read through these accounts, it should become apparent that breed is not the issue. Circumstance is the key. Children not supervised. Dogs running loose or breaking loose. Dogs chained in areas where wandering children could enter. Dog/child interactions not supervised.
These things are what caused the deaths of the children in particular, not what type of dog was involved.
Summaries:
# of Attacks 37
# of Victims 38
# of Dogs 93
# of Attacks > 1 dog 22 52%
# of Attacks > 2 dogs 13 31%
# of deaths not from bites 1 2%
Victim’s Age:
0 – 2 11 29%
3 – 5 14 37%
6 – 12 10 26%
13 – 16 0 0%
17+ 3 8%
Dog Location:
Home 13 35%
Relative 6 16%
Neighbour 7 19%
Loose 11 30%
Breed of Dog (# Attacks):
Husky 10.5 28%
Unknown Mix (northern dogs) 7.1 19%
German Shepherd 4.7 13%
Rottweiler 3.95 11%
Sled Dog 3 8%
AmStaff 1 3%
Bullmastiff 1 3%
Chow Chow 1 3%
Labrador 1 3%
Malamute 1 3%
Maremma Sheepdog 1 3%
Collie 0.5 1%
Jack Russell 0.5 1%
Wolf 0.5 1%
Border Collie 0.25 1%
Breed of Dog (# Dogs):
Unknown Mix (northern dogs) 30 32%
Husky 19.5 21%
Sled Dog 10 11%
German Shepherd 9.5 10%
Rottweiler 9.5 10%
Labrador 5 5%
AmStaff 2 2%
Malamute 2 2%
Border Collie 1 1%
Bullmastiff 1 1%
Chow Chow 1 1%
Maremma Sheepdog 1 1%
Collie 0.5 1%
Jack Russell 0.5 1%
Wolf 0.5 1%
The conclusions from the details listed below are:
A secure enclosure for all dogs loose in their yards would have prevented 27 incidents (73%).
Supervising young children (too young to be on their own), without knowing there was going to be a dog involved, would have prevented 21 incidents (57%).
Supervising a known interaction between a child and a dog would have prevented 12 incidents (33%).
Having secure enclosure for all dogs and supervising all children would have prevented 34 incidents (92%).
Here is the list updated as of February 8, 2015:
Mar 1983. Edmonton AB. 3-year-old boy. 2 Farm dogs. Free roaming dogs attacked boy near his home.
Apr 1987. Vernon BC. 5-year-old girl. 1 German Shepherd X. Girl went to play with grandmother’s chained dog.
Jun 1988. QU. 17-month-old boy. 1 German Shepherd. Wandered over to neighbour’s dog.
Apr 1990. ON. Newborn girl. 1 Chow Chow. Family dog overturned bassinet.
Jul 1993. NWT. 6-year-old girl. 1 Sled dog. Tried to feed bone to tethered dogs.
Dec 1993. AB. 11-year-old girl. 5 Sled dogs. Attacked by loose dogs while walking home.
Sep 1994. ON. 17-month-old girl. 1 Maremma Sheepdog. Attacked when got between male dog & female dog in heat.
Aug 1995. ON. 22-year-old man. 2 American Staffordshire Terriers. Evidence indicated drunken roommate provoked dogs.
Dec 1995. SK. 6-year-old boy. 2 German Shepherds. Attacked while playing in yard by uncle’s dogs.
1996. Cross Lake MB. 3-year-old boy. 4 Strays. Killed on Cross Lake Reservation by stray dogs.
Sep 1997. SK. 3-year-old boy. 1 Sled dog (Husky/Shep X or Husky/Wolf X). Attacked in junk-filled yard by chained dog, loose puppies also in yard.
Nov 1997. ON. 3-year-old boy. 1 Rottweiler. Resident dog broke loose from chain and attacked boy.
Mar 1998. Iqaluit NU. 6-year-old girl. 4 Sled dogs. Wandered to dogs staked on sea ice.
Apr 29 1998. Stouffville ON. 8-year-old girl. 1 Bullmastiff. Attacked while playing in neighbour’s yard.
Aug 23 1998. Zacharias Island, Hopedale Labrador NF. 10-year-old boy and 44-year-old woman. 8 Sled dogs (Labrador/Husky X’s). Mother & son killed while picking blueberries on island where pack of sled dogs was left for summer.
Dec 21 1998. Cross Lake MB. 8-year-old boy. 6 Strays. Second child killed by stray dogs on Cross Lake Reservation.
Mar 1999. BC. 3-year-old girl. 1 Husky X. Attacked while playing in neighbour’s yard.
May 1999. Saint-Charles-de-Mandeville, Lanaudière QU. 2-year-old boy. 1 Husky. Victim tangled up in chain of one of 24 dogs kept in yard – cause of death was single bite to throat.
Jul 1999. NWT. 2-year-old boy. 1 Husky X. Attacked while with mother at grandfather’s home.
Nov 1999. Garden River AB. 6-year-old girl. Pack of dogs (4+). Girl playing with loose puppy, killed by pack of starving dogs (reservation).
Jan 27 2002. Woodland Beach ON. 4-year-old girl. 2 Labrador/Rottweiler X. Attacked in field by father’s dogs while visiting father’s home.
Mar 1 2003. Kingston Peninsula NB. 4-year-old boy. 3 Rottweilers. Visiting at home with father, killed in yard where 2 males and 1 female were kept.
Oct 13 2003. Nelson House MB. 3-year-old boy. 4 German Shepherd X. Killed by 4 of grandmother’s 15 dogs (chained and broke free) – playing with puppy – Cree Reservation.
Dec 27 2004. Maple Ridge BC. 3-year-old boy. 1 Border Collie, 3 Rottweilers. Killed by 2 of own dogs (Border Collie & Rottweiler) and 2 visiting Rottweilers while mother slept.
May 29 2006. Wellburn ON. 77-year-old man. 1 Jack Russell/Collie X, described by authorities as Pit Bull/Labrador Retriever X. Man “playfully” shoved wife – dog attacked him and bit throat.
Jun 15 2006. Sayisi Dene First Nation in Tadoule Lake MB. 3-year-old boy. 2 Husky X. Two loose-running dogs, NOT STRAYS, attacked child. Multiple unsupervised children.
Jul 27 2006. Hollow Water First Nation MB. 2-year-old boy. 2 Husky X. Unsupervised child wandered into group of loose and tethered dogs. 2 identified as killers (one loose, one tethered). Tethered dog part of sled team. 17-year old babysitter noticed child was missing one hour later. Uncle found child.
Nov 16 2006. North Tallcree First Nation (near Fort Vermilion) AB. 5-year-old boy. 1 Rottweiler, 1 German Shepherd X, 3 Unknown Breeds. Five loose-running dogs. Only two were found (both owned by same owner). Child unsupervised. Neighbours saw attack and tried to stop it.
Jan 18 2007. Cumberland House First Nation Reserve SK. 5-year-old boy. 6 Unknown Breeds, both large and small. One report describes dogs as strays, another as owned by a neighbour who let them run loose. Death from bites and hypothermia. Child unsupervised on way to school.
Jul 1 2007. Smiths Falls (Montague Township) ON. 17-month-old girl. 1 Rottweiler/German Shepherd X. 10 year old dog at grandparents’ house. Family visiting. Child wandered into backyard where dog was chained.
Jan 30 2010. Canoe Lake First Nation Reserve SK. 9-year-old boy. 4 Unknown breeds. 9 year old going to visit cousin’s house. Found dead.
Mar 22 2010. Pangnirtung NU. 4-year-old boy. 3 Huskies. Sled dogs described as huskies broke loose from chains while owner was out of town and attacked boy, Town coroner discovered dogs tearing body apart while he was driving past. He killed all three dogs. Boy was unsupervised.
Jun 7 2010. Saint-Barnabé-Sud (St. Hyacinthe) QU. 3-week-old girl. 2 Huskies. Baby in car seat in kitchen near balcony sliding doors (with dogs), parent(s) on balcony 10 ft away having cigarette. Dogs attacked baby. Third dog in crate with puppies!.
Aug 21 2011. Mosquito First Nation SK. 1-year-old girl. 2 Husky X. 1 year old wandered into dogs’ yard.
Feb 16 2012. Airdrie AB. Newborn boy. 1 Husky. Baby in crib, dog in crate in basement, baby cried, female dog got loose and killed baby (maybe trying to move it).
Mar 16 2014. Springfield MB. 7-year-old girl. 2 Malamutes. Circumstances unclear. Visiting family friends.
June 14 2014. Puvirnituq QU. 4-year-old-girl. 1 Sled dog (Husky). Child approached neighbour’s chained dog.
October 17 2015. Ross River YK. 22- year-old lady. 4 stray dogs.
January 30 2016. Kamloops BC. 78-year-old lady. Mixed breed tied up in backyard.
June 6 2016. Chesterfield Inlet, NU. 4-year-old girl. Northern breed mix. Dog was not tied up properly.
June 9 2016. Montreal, QC. 55-year-old-lady. Am Staff mix. Dog had previous bite history.
July 27 2017. Kitchener, ON. Adult male. Boxer-bulldog. Cause of death was not ruled as a result of the dog bite.
May 13 2017. Little Grand Rapids, MB. 24-year-old female. Pack of stray dogs.
September 14 2017. Location to be determined. 6 -year-old. Alaskan Malamute.
Sent 15 2018. Langdon, AB. 50 year-old female. Boxer Pit Bull X.
June 9 2020. Nova Scotia. 38 -year-old female. American Bully
June 29 2020. Kamloops, BC. Male. Pit bull type