Dogs 'turned on their owner' in attack at Winnipeg motel, head of animal services says
Leland Gordon has not seen anything like what happened Sunday in his 10 years running animal services
The dogs that sent three people to hospital Sunday morning deliberately turned on their owner, the CEO of Winnipeg's Animal Services Agency says.
"This is not a pack of dogs attacking random people. This was dogs that turned on their owner and turned on an acquaintance of that owner who was trying to help," Leland Gordon told CBC's Information Radio host Marcy Markusa.
The attack involving four dogs in the parking lot of the Capri Motel on Pembina Highway brought out 13 police units, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service and Winnipeg animal services staff to secure the animals.
The dogs' owner and another person suffered life-altering injuries, police said.
Gordon said he has never seen anything like what happened Sunday morning in his 10 years running animal services.
"It's very rare that dogs would turn on an owner" and the whole situation is "tragic" for all involved, Gordon said, but he wouldn't divulge specifics about the case.
WATCH | Emily Brass' report:
Police initially reported the dogs involved were all pit bull-mastiff mixes, which are considered tough or bully breeds. They were not spayed or neutered.
According to Gordon, those breeds require a lot of disciplined training — though the environment in which a dog is raised also plays a factor in its behaviour.
"Was the dog growing up around violence? Was it growing up around criminality? Because dogs can get protective," he said.
"Dogs are how we raise them. Whether or not your dog is a bully breed … you have to raise your dogs properly and put them in scenarios where they don't have negative outcomes."
None is believed to have rabies.
An adult dog and a puppy are currently being cared for by animal services, while the other two were shot dead by police.
A city spokesperson confirmed the surviving adult dog that was captured is mostly American pit bull terrier, which is on the city's list of prohibited dog breeds.
The dead dogs are not being tested, while the puppy is too young to confirm its breed, the city spokesperson confirmed in an email.
The puppy is believed not to be directly involved in what happened, Gordon said.
The future of the two dogs in animal services' care is unknown at this point, he said.
Gordon said animal services will decide whether charges will be laid. Although charges haven't yet been laid under municipal by-laws, the possibility remains, according to the city.
Animal services is continuing to investigate.
With files from Marcy Markusa and Emily Brass