Owners of 3 dogs that fatally attacked woman in June charged under Calgary bylaw

The owners of three dogs that fatally attacked a Calgary woman in June have been jointly charged with 12 offences under the Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw, the city said Wednesday.

Police were called tothe northwest community of Capitol Hill on the afternoon of June 5for reports of an 86-year-old woman being attacked by three dogs.Paramedics took the woman to hospital in life-threatening condition, but she died a short time later.

Denis Bagaric and Talyn Calkins are facing charges. They've been charged with three offences for an animal attack on a person causing severe injury, three offences for an animal attack to a person, three offences for an animal bite to a person and three offences for an animal running at large.

The charges result in a mandatory provincial court appearance. Each offence carries a maximum penalty of $10,000 orup to six months imprisonment for a fine that goes unpaid. As the owners were jointly charged, that means a maximum of $120,000 if convicted of all offences.

"For the purposes of the enforcement of our bylaw, we don't need to know how the dogs got out. We need to know they got out, and it's quite clear that they did," said Ryan Pleckaitis, chief bylaw officer for the city.

Under the Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw, dogs must remain in control and within view of their owner.

Other charges around the bite and attack were "easily established," Pleckaitis said.

Calgary police are continuing an investigation into potential criminal charges related to the incident.

The three dogs, a North American pit bull terrier mix, a North American Staffordshire mix and an American pit bull, were seized by community peace officers following the attack and have been in city custody since.

The city has submitted a Dangerous Dog Application to the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta requesting thatthe dogs be euthanized. The dogs will continue to be held pending the outcome of the application.

"Within the City of Calgary records, there was no prior history with these three animals," said Pleckaitis."We're seeking to have them humanely euthanized as we believe that they pose a significant risk to public safety."

An independent review of the 911 call and the delay in responding to the incident isongoing.

CBC News has reached out to both dog owners for comment.