I am pleased to share that the dog that attacked a man walking with his wife on Craighurst Avenue in March is now in the custody of Mississauga Animal Services.
Together with my Ward 10 office team – David and Daniela, I worked tirelessly with city staff, Peel Police and the community to see that this dog was removed from the community in the name of public safety. During the investigation, it was revealed that this was the third known attack by this dog within the last 14 months, with the previous two victims being other dogs. The man who was attacked in March is recovering from his serious wounds. His wife was also attacked by another dog from the same residence that evening. This second incident is subject to charges under the Dog Owner’s Liability Act, but not seizure; that dog remains in the custody of its owner. The case against the bite-offending dog now stands as a Provincial Court matter and that dog will remain in the custody of the City for the duration of the case and until directed otherwise by the Court.
The process of collecting sufficient evident in order to obtain a seizure warrant from a Justice of the Peace in a court of law is extensive. I want to thank the investigating officers (police officer and city’s peace officers) for the careful and diligent work on this file. And I especially want to thank the members of the community that stepped forward to provide witness statements related to the three attacks. Without that, obtaining a seizure warrant would have been much more difficult. Having said that, I am reviewing the existing act (DOLA) to see how we can better protect the public more quickly in the case of similar vicious dog attacks in the future.