Bruce is in big trouble, and it’s the kind that could result in the death of the American Staffordshire terrier mix.
The dog’s owners have asked to remain anonymous but wanted to make a statement about their three-year-old dog, also referred to as a pit bull, which chased a little Pomeranian inside its home and killed it Monday.
“Bruce loves people and gets along with other dogs, but has a high prey drive,” the statement reads.
“That means it is instinctual for him to want to chase cats and other small furry animals. We believe that is how he got loose. Many dogs have this prey drive.”
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Diamond (CONTRIBUTED) |
On the day it apparently killed the little dog named Diamond at its Fourth Street home in Dartmouth, Bruce was said to have been on a yard leash.
“He was outside for no more than five minutes before we saw he was gone,” reads the statement.
“We followed his tracks and it seems clear that he broke his collar (that was meant for large dogs) because he saw one of the plentiful stray cats in the neighbourhood.”
Brendan Elliott, a spokesman for Halifax Regional Municipality, said Bruce’s owners have been charged with three offences under the city’s new animal control bylaw, which came into effect last month.
They are scheduled to appear in Dartmouth provincial court Jan. 7 to face charges of a dog attack, running at large and having an unlicensed dog.
The minimum fine for the dog attack charge is $300, while the maximum for each is $5,000. Failure to pay could result in up to 60 days in jail, Elliott said.
Bruce is at the Homeward Bound shelter in Dartmouth, and its fate is in the hands of the judge.
“It wouldn’t be our decision, in this case, to determine whether the dog should be returned to the owners, or in a worst-case scenario, the dog be put down,” Elliott said.
Rachelle Coward was Diamond’s owner. She told The Chronicle Herald earlier this week that she and members of her family did everything they could to get her dog out of the larger dog’s mouth.
Bruce’s owners called the incident a “freak accident.”
“He got loose and saw something he thought was prey, but he is not aggressive. An aggressive dog would have turned on the three women and the small dog attacking him in defence of the Pomeranian,” the owners wrote.
Police had no difficulty convincing Bruce to jump in the back of their vehicle when they tracked down the dog in the neighbourhood.
“They even said it surprised them how friendly he was. This does not surprise us. Bruce is loved by everyone he meets,” the statement said.
The owners said they visited their dog and brought food, but they worry about what will happen to Bruce.
“The city wants our dog dead because of a seriously unfortunate turn of events. There are so many alternatives to murdering our pet. We are so sorry for what happened and it is heartbreaking for us as well,” the statement reads.
Elliot said Bruce’s owners had adopted him from Homeward Bound, where he was being taken care of after someone found him and dropped him off. The owners are now grappling with the possibility that he will be put down.
“But do two families need to lose their beloved pets?” asked the owners.
“We have read comments where people say that we, the owners, should be euthanized (and) many people seem to think we are thugs that trained our dog to do this. Others seem to believe we irresponsibly had him off-leash on purpose. This was nothing but an accident.”
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