Christiane Vadnais, dead after pit bull attack, laid to rest

Vadnais' family remembered woman who loved life, was a 'ray of sunshine'

Image | Christiane Vadnais

Caption: Christiane Vadnais, left, died on June 8 after she was attacked by what police described as a pit bull in her Pointe-aux-Trembles backyard. (Facebook)

Christiane Vadnais, the 55-year-old woman who died after being attacked by a pit bull in her backyard, was laid to rest on her family's plot in Saint-Cyrille-de-Wendover Saturday afternoon.
Hundreds gathered at a church in the town, near Drummondville, to pay their respects to a woman many say was full of life and always smiling.
"Christiane enjoyed life and was a little ray of sunshine," her brother Gaston said.
Vadnais' family has been vocal about wanting a ban on pit bulls. In the days after her death on June 9, Brossard and Quebec City have done just that.

Image | gaston vadnais

Caption: Gaston Vadnais, Christiane's brother, said he was grateful to those worked towards banning new pit bulls in Montreal. (Radio-Canada)

On the day of Vadnais' funeral, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre announced plans to ban new pit bulls. The ban would apply to all 19 boroughs, including Pointe-aux-Trembles, where Vadnais was mauled.
"Thank you to those who dealt with it." Gaston Vadnais said. "We don't want Christiane to be a statistic."
"We hope that people have started to become aware of concrete steps that can be taken so that such a thing never happens again. It's an atrocious death," he said.

Image | Christiane Vadnais funeral

Caption: Mourners gather outside the Saint-Cyrille de Wendover church for the funeral of Christiane Vadnais. (Radio-Canada)

Vadnais's sister Lyse was visibly grieving as she exited the church to speak to reporters. She could only bring herself to repeat a comforting phrase said during her sister's funeral.
"We have to give ourselves time to make sense of this senseless event."