Court rejects lawyer's bid to save dangerous dog from euthanasia

AMontreal lawyer said she will appeal a court decision to proceed with theeuthanization ofapitbull-type dog thatattacked six people, including four children, in Montreal North last August.

Anne-France Goldwater, whoselegal bid to save thedog from death wasrejected Tuesday, saidshe will act quickly, as she expects the dog could be put down within 48 hours of the Quebec Superior Court ruling.

"Obviously, it's a decision that's disappointing but not to be unexpected," Goldwater said.

Goldwater had argued in court last week the section of a municipal bylaw declaring a dog must be euthanized once declared dangerous contravenes provincial animal welfare legislation.

She said she wants to see more "public outrage at the notion that we can just blindly disregard animal welfare legislation."

But Justice Lukasz Granosik ruled Tuesdaythat the request to have the dog, named Shotta, sent to a refuge rather than put down came too late. Granosik alsoupheld the bylaw's provision on dangerous dogs.

Goldwater, acting for the dog's owner, argued it should be sent to a specialized refuge in New York, where it would be kept away from the public and never adopted.

A lawyer for the City of Montreal had said the dog's actions on the day of the attack clearly showed it was dangerous, and municipal authorities had every right to order its death.

Montreal North borough Mayor Christine Black said the fact that the dog attacked six people, including fourchildren, means "in that context, this was the decision to make."

She said the safety of her citizens comes first.

The Crown announced last week there would be no criminal charges against the woman who was watching the dog when the attacks took place.