‘Nightmare tragedy’: Bulldog mix euthanized after killing another dog outside Toronto condo

Crystal (left) died following an attack, which also left a bite (right) on her owner's hand.

A dog was euthanized after being linked to two “dangerous” incidents in Toronto’s Canary District, the most recent of which left a nearly 10-year-old Maltese shih tzu named Crystal dead.

The attack happened late on March 21 and is being described as a “nightmare tragedy” by Toronto City Coun. Chris Moise, who represents the surrounding downtown neighbourhood.

Crystal and her owner were returning to their building near Mill Street when they encountered a boy walking an American bulldog-mastiff mix.

They stopped for a moment, but continued walking towards the building’s doors. That’s when the larger dog noticed them and bolted over.

“I turned around and I tried to pick her (Crystal) up, but the dog just got to her too fast,” Crystal’s owner, who CTV News is not identifying due to safety concerns, said in an interview.

In trying to pull the dog off, the owner was bitten on the thumb.

Crystal suffered severe injuries, including bites to her eyelid, head and chest, and a large portion of her neck was torn away, the owner said.

Nearby resident Damini Pasricha Chopra said she and her husband were returning home, at around 11:45 p.m., when they heard someone screaming.

“We could see the dogs, so we went running over there,” Chopra said in an interview. “We saw (Crystal’s owner) on the floor and … someone holding (Crystal) and we could see the blood all over the floor.”

Chopra said the child struggled to restrain the bulldog mix, which was “whining and crying” with blood covering its face.

As bystanders started calling emergency services, Chopra contacted multiple animal hospitals while her husband went to get some medical supplies to clean up the dog owner’s wound.

“I was trying to reach out to different animal hospitals because a lot of animal hospitals were like, ‘Oh, we don’t have surgeons available so we can’t help you,’” Chopra said.

Eventually, Crystal was taken to an animal hospital near Yonge Street by the dog owner’s partner, while her owner was transported to Toronto Western Hospital for treatment. An ambulance came shortly after 12:05 a.m., Toronto Police said.

Chopra stayed by the dog owner’s side through the night and said they ultimately waited hours for treatment. The dog owner didn’t require stitches, she said, and their wound was cleaned and wrapped by hospital staff.

The severity of Crystal’s injuries required “a lot” of surgery, her owner said, and the hospital wanted to charge her $25,000 up front to cover the whole treatment.

However, about four hours after Crystal was admitted she died, the owner said.

Second reported incident

This may not have been the first time that bull dog mix was involved in a dog attack.

In the Canary District Neighbourhood Association Facebook group, another resident alerted neighbours of an attack on Feb. 12, where a bull dog-mastiff mix broke free from a young boy’s grasp and attacked their dog. The dog required stitches to the head, according to the post.

A spokesperson for Tricon Residential, the company that manages the apartment building the bulldog-mastiff mix lived in, said they worked “around the clock” with animal services and the Landlord and Tenant Board to “address this situation as quickly as possible and ensure the safety of our community.”

“We are deeply saddened by this incident and have been in contact with the affected resident to offer our support,” the statement reads.

Tricon said the dog was removed from the building last week, after TAS’ enforcement actions.

“Toronto Animal Services humanely euthanized the dog earlier today, and charged the owner for the incident earlier this week,” a spokesperson for the agency confirmed to CTV News Toronto in an email on Monday.

TAS confirmed the bulldog-mastiff was involved in two dangerous incidents, but said the first reported case occurred in January.

“We understand community concerns about dog bites and attacks in Toronto. The City is committed to ensuring that residents and their pets are safe from dangerous dogs, through a variety of education and enforcement actions,” the statement notes.

Dangerous dog orders

TAS said that Torontonians can scour the city’s online portal to see what dangerous dog orders are currently active in their neighbourhood. The city issues one of these orders when a dog has bitten, attacked, or exhibited “menacing behaviour” and the act is either considered severe or is a repeat offence on record.

As of publication, there are 325 active orders and slightly more than half of them yielded severe dog bites. However, it is not clear whether a dangerous dog order had previously been issued in this case.

Coun. Chris Moise said what happened in the neighbourhood is a reminder of the importance of always ensuring your dog is leashed and taking “every precaution” to ensure you hold on to the leash.

“Our understanding is that a young teenager was walking their dog, an American bulldog x mastiff mix – which is not a restricted breed – and the dog got away from their owner,” Moise said in an email.

“Whenever you’re walking your dog, please ensure that they’re leashed at all times, and please take every precaution possible to hold on to their leash. My heart goes out to the grieving families.”

Pit bulls, including pit bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers and American pit bull terriers, have been banned in Ontario since 2005. American bulldog-mastiff mixes are not included under the Dog Owner’s Responsibility Act’s definition of a pit bull.

“I know it’s really hard and I’m just trying to, I guess, put a brave face on,” Crystal’s owner said of her late dog.

While the dog owner is saddened by the loss of her pet, who they described as a gentle soul, they made it clear they don’t place any blame on the dog or the child who was walking it at that time.

“I feel like its definitely the adults—the adult—in charge of the animal that should be like, as a family, he should be like ‘Okay, this is how we’re gonna do our walks,’” the dog owner said.