Port Edward councillor Dan Franzen pulled no punches on Wednesday night when talking about the pit bull that charged and attacked his dog while out on a daily walk.
According to Franzen, he and his dog were walking on their usual route when the pit bull's owner let the dog out to urinate. But when the pit bull saw Franzen's dog, the animal quickly attacked, biting and scratching his pet.
"The fact that the dog bolted out of the house makes it dangerous. I personally feel the dog should be put down ... on this walk before we have encountered two wolves that never bothered us, three bears that never bothered us and a deer that never bothered us, but this pit bull attacked," he said, noting his concern was that the next attack victim could be a child in the community.
"Personally I would like to see Port Edward ban all pit bulls, though that could be a rash decision ... I don't like pit bulls. They are trained to kill, and that is what they do."
Although sympathetic, council did not pursue the ban on the advice of chief administrative officer Ron Bedard who said the idea has been tried in other municipalities. On the idea of having the dog put down, Bedard said the municipality doesn't have the legal authority to do so.
"If it was to bite again, we still don't have the authority to get the animal and have it euthanized ... our hands are tied," he said, noting any such action would surely be met with lawsuits.
"We have sent the owner a letter saying the dog is now considered dangerous and cannot be off-leash or fenced in or outside unaccompanied, and if it is, it must be muzzled."
In addition to the sent letter, council voted to have the mayor send another letter telling the owners how serious council is taking the subject.