Pit bull that attacked Peachland mayor deemed ‘aggressive’

PEACHLAND – Peachland mayor, Cindy Fortin’s dog has been getting plenty of publicity lately now that word is out that her husky was attacked by a pit bull.

READ MORE: Mayor of Peachland wants to look at aggressive dogs

It happened while Fortin was walking her dog, Nanook, in her neighbourhood.

“That dog was gunning for him,” says Fortin.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "That dog was gunning for him," says Fortin.

She managed to pull the pit bull off her dog.

“He has a couple of stitches… he had a puncture wound very close to his eye,” says Fortin.

The incident happened about two weeks ago but only now is Fortin going public.

“I’m not calling for a ban on pit bulls. Please don’t send me letters about that. What I am going to do is look into what other communities are doing,” she says.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I'm not calling for a ban on pit bulls. Please don't send me letters about that. What I am going to do is look into what other communities are doing," she says.

What other communities are doing is banning pit bulls. Montreal is looking at it after a woman was mauled to death by a pit bull last week. This week, a woman in Surrey was attacked by a pit bull. She survived.

Although Fortin stops short of calling for an outright ban on pit bulls, she wants to see something done.

“If you have a pit bull or any kind of aggressive or large dog, maybe have the owner’s licensed?” She says.

Fortin says perhaps dogs that are deemed to be aggressive should be muzzled.

Okanagan dog trainer, Catherine Adams, says she is not a fan of banning certain breeds but agrees with Fortin that perhaps owners should be tested.

“There are a couple of countries that you have to licensed to get a dog and you have to prove that you have the knowledge to handle this dog and to keep this dog,” says Adams.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "There are a couple of countries that you have to licensed to get a dog and you have to prove that you have the knowledge to handle this dog and to keep this dog," says Adams.

In the meantime, the attack on Fortin’s dog has already struck a nerve with pit bull owners who are defending the breed.

“I’ve received a couple of e mails already from a couple of pit bull owners who want to make sure that it’s not the pit bull and sending me pictures of pit bulls which is not the exact thing I want to see right now.”

The pit bull that attacked the mayor’s dog has been declared “aggressive” by the Regional District of Central Okanagan. That means it’s restricted from a number of public venues including off-leash parks, public beaches and playgrounds, for three years. The owner did pay Fortin’s vet bill.