Police use Taser 3 times on attacking dog

Calgary police officers had to use a Taser on a puppy three times after it attacked its owners during a walk, sending them to hospital with cuts to their arms and hands.

A man and woman were walking in the northeast neighbourhood of Saddle Ridge on Monday morning, at about 12:30 a.m., when the dog turned on them. Police said the owners had been arguing and that may have prompted the dog to attack. The couple was able to flag down a passing patrol car.

Police stunned the Preso Canario dog with the Taser once to stop it from biting its owners, and then a second time when it appeared to be preparing to attack the officers.

"The officers had to deploy the Taser to allow the dog to disengage from the female owner," said Staff Sgt. Geoff Gawlinski.

"The dog was displaying aggression towards its own owners and the officers when they tried to apprehend the dog and that's when it become apparent that the Taser was the best option to safely de-escalate the situation."

The dog ran onto the porch of a home a few blocks away in Martindale, and police warned the occupants to stay inside.

"The positioning of the dog near the front door of the occupied house was too dangerous for officers to shoot the extremely aggressive animal," police said. "Police officers approached the dangerous animal and again Tasered the dog, while one officer placed a dog noose over its neck."

The dog, who was not harmed, has been taken to the pound, while the owners, believed to be in their 20s, were taken to hospital for several puncture wounds and lacerations to their hands and arms.

Dog is Presa Canario breed

Bill Bruce, director of Calgary's animal and bylaw services, told CBC News the nine-month-old male puppy is a rare Presa Canario breed, correcting an earlier police report that the dog was a pit bull. He estimated there are only about six Presa Canario dogs in the city.

"Like any big dog, it requires the right conditioning, the right training and the right leadership to keep it a safe dog," said Bruce, adding that Presa Canario can grow reach about 150 pounds.

"The dog is very nervous, very upset and very quiet right now. But we'll wait [until] the dog climatizes to its new environment, and then we'll behavior test it," he said. "We see this attack on owners [as] very, very serious. We need to know what's triggering this dog, what threat does it pose to Calgarians."

Bruce said the city would not normally lay a charge against an animal when it attacks its owner. He added that the city will probably proceed with a dangerous dog court hearing to determine what will happen to the animal.

"If the dog was to be returned to the owner, should it have conditions on it like muzzling, containment, things like that," said Bruce. "Sometimes owners will request that dogs be put down after an incident like this, but that's the owner choice."

2nd dog attack in a week

This was the second dog attack in Calgary in four days. On Friday, a boxer-pointer cross attacked and bit a woman and her two-year-old son in Beddington. The mother was unloading groceries near the 200 block of Bedford Place N.E. when the dog attacked.

That dog was also seized and taken to the pound. Charges are pending against its owner, police said.

Nikeae Michalchuk, a behaviorist with Calgary's animal services department, said certain dog breeds are hardwired for working or fighting or protection, so owners need to be able to train them accordingly.

"I think you got a lot of people that just get dogs for status and they're uneducated dog owners. They don't really realize what a dog has a capability of doing," added Calgary dog trainer Roland Pearson.

"Respect your dog like its a loaded gun.  It does have the capability to hurt somebody just like a gun."