Labrador retriever attacks, kills smaller dog in Linden Woods

The owner of a small dog killed by another family's pet wants her neighbours to know there's a dog in the area that's capable of unprovoked attacks — but the owner of that dog said she's taking steps to improve his behaviour and she doesn't want him deemed dangerous.

Carolina Fridman said she was walking Snoopy, her five-year-old bichon frise-shih tzu cross, in Linden Woods when a Labrador retriever ran up from behind them and grabbed the 12-pound dog in its jaws.

"I grabbed that dog by the collar. I tried to cry, I cried for help," she said. "He just didn't let him go."

As a crowd formed, another woman helped her try to separate the dogs, but her finger was bitten, Fridman said.

"All tried to help the lady, and I was trying to help Snoopy, then someone called 911," she said.

Finally the lab took off, leaving Snoopy motionless in a pool of blood on the sidewalk, she said.

Fridman called her husband and they rushed their dog to the veterinarian.

"I tried to tell him to hold on there. I think he was alive in the car," she said. "The pronounced him dead just when we came to the vet."

The veterinarian said Snoopy died from puncture wounds in his chest.

Fridman reported the attack to Winnipeg's animal services unit and the owner of the other dog was charged under the city's Responsible Dog Ownership Bylaw.

'Dangerous dog' designation

They told her they seized the dog and a decision about designating it a "dangerous dog" is pending, she said.

A City of Winnipeg spokesperson wouldn't comment on the incident, but the city bylaw states when a dog is aggressive towards dogs and/or humans, it can be designated a dangerous dog.

Dogs designated dangerous must wear a leash and muzzle whenever they're away from their house, "dangerous dog" signs must be posted and there must be an enclosed dog run at the property where the dog lives, the bylaw states.

But the owner of the Labrador retriever, which is named CoCo, said she will appear at a hearing Aug. 26 in an attempt to keep her dog from being given the dangerous dog designation.

"I feel terrible for the lady with the little dog, as I also love my dog," said Kelly Qiang, 22, who owns CoCo.

CoCo has never attacked another dog or person before, she said.

Qiang plans to have CoCo neutered and she's working with a dog trainer to improve his behaviour with other dogs, she said.

She often takes him to the dog park, where he plays with other dogs, she said, but she also admitted she has trouble controlling him and keeping him contained.

Qiang wasn't home when CoCo attacked Snoopy, but her mother said someone left the garage door open and CoCo got out of the house that way, she said.

But Fridman said even a dangerous dog designation isn't enough — the dog who attacked her pet shouldn't live in the city, she said.

"I'm not saying to put him down, but what he did — he's a hunter. It's as simple as that," she said.

"For me to know that this dog will be returned to this neighbourhood, it's something I can't understand."