Dangerous dog committee maintains muzzle order for Rottweiler in Amherstburg dog attack

A muzzle order will remain in effect on a dog that jumped a fence and attacked a child out walking her dog in Amherstburg last month.

One of the dogs involved in an Amherstburg dog fight caught on video will continue to be subject to a muzzle order, a committee has ruled.

The rarely convened Amherstburg Dangerous Dog Appeal Committee met on Tuesday night to consider a muzzle order issued for a Rottweiler named Cole.

After escaping, Cole and Diesel, another Rottweiler, attacked an 11-year-old girl who was walking her German Shepherd on May 12.

In addition to charges laid by bylaw officers, both Rottweilers received muzzle orders.

Olivia Naklie, the dog’s owner, asked the four-person committee to consider rescinding the order, specifically for Cole, or at least limit it to a time frame.

“I think that Cole’s behaviour is consistent with a young, anxious, fearful dog trying to escape, and I do not think that an ongoing muzzle order is going to help him with that,” Naklie said during the meeting.

The committee watched footage of the incident, captured by a neighbour’s camera system and widely shared on social media.

As the video played, Naklie pointed to cases where she felt the dogs were “play wrestling,” or where Cole refrained from biting the other dog, or nearby residents.

Video shows residents attempting to separate the dogs.

At times during the video, Naklie noted, Cole is kicked and has items thrown at him.

“In my view, this behaviour is more consistent with a fearful and overwhelmed young dog attempting to avoid the situation than with a dog actively seeking to engage in aggression,” she said.

Since the incident, Naklie said a new fence has been installed, and Cole has been enrolled in obedience training classes involving interaction with other dogs.

A bylaw officer told the committee a mother and her daughter sustained minor injuries; However, he didn’t have information on the injuries of the German Shepherd.

The committee sequestered to a separate room for 15 minutes before returning with the decision not to overturn the muzzle order.

After the meeting, Amherstburg Mayor Michael Prue, who does not sit on the non-council committee, told reporters it was a “difficult decision” to make.

Prue felt the committee had to choose between upholding the order or applying a time frame for the order.

“I didn’t see them just abolishing the order. It was far too serious of an event, but they made the decision, and they made it, in their best interest, in what they thought was best for the community, and I will support them,” Prue said.

In his 32 years as an elected official, Prue said he couldn’t recall the last time an order was appealed.

Under the order, the dog must wear a muzzle when it is in a public place or around animals and people from outside its home.

“I don’t know whether there is an avenue in a few years time to come back or not. There could be. I have not researched that,” Prue said about revisiting the decision.

Prue noted the family can appeal the muzzle order decision through the courts.