Neighbour describes dog attack on woman killed in her backyard

Farid Benzenatisays he was unable to sleep afterwitnessing a violentdog attack on his neighbour in Montreal.

Christiane Vadnais, 55,was mauled in the backyard of her home inMontreal'seast end Wednesday afternoon by what police describe as a pit bull. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police slay dog that attacked Montreal woman

8 years ago

Duration 1:12

'I saw blood, and the dog was still attacking her,' Farid Benzenati says after woman, 55, dies

Police initiallysaid Vadnaiswas killed by the dog, but lateThursday morning, theysaid an autopsy was needed to confirm that hypothesis.

Vadnaiswas a long-time employee of Montreal's public transit agency, the STM. Several of her co-workers were in shock after learning of her death Thursday morning, Radio-Canada reported.

Gruesome discovery

Benzenati said he arrived at his Pointe-aux-Trembleshome from work around 5 p.m. ET, and as is his habit, had a quick look outside at the pool in his backyard.

I saw blood, andthe dog was still attacking her.- FaridBenzenati

That's when he noticed movement behind the fence.

"I saw a big dog that appeared to be playing with a large object. I looked closer and saw that the object was really big," he said.

His fear mounting,Benzenatimoved closer.

"That's when I saw hair," he said. "It was hard to see, but I knew it was a woman's body."

He yelled his neighbour's name, but there was no reply.

"I saw blood, and the dog was still attacking her," he said.

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Benzenati then ran back into his house and called police.

He described Vadnais as "very nice, always smiling" and said she lived alone.

The dog was new to the neighbourhood, he said. It was only in the past few days that he'dheard itbarking.

Officers shoot, kill dog

Police believe the dog may have gone through a hole in the fence from a neighbouring yard.

"When they arrived in the backyard, there was the dog that was pretty aggressive towards police officers," said Montreal policeConst. Jean-PierreBrabant.

Officers had to shoot and kill the dog in order to reach Vadnais safely,Brabantsaid.

"Unfortunately, that lady was pronounced dead on site."

Brabantsaid it appeared the dog's owner wasn't home at the time of the attack.

Montreal police have now found and spoken with the owner of a dog.

Const.Benoit Boisselle said later Thursday the 27-year-old man could face charges of criminal negligence.

Plan for 'dangerous dogs'

The incident comes on the heels of a City of Montreal plan to overhaul rules regarding "dangerous dogs."

Last month, the city said it wants to come up with regulations for all 19 boroughs but wouldn'tsay if it's leaning toward an all-out ban on any particular breed.

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderresaid the city wouldwaitfor the autopsy results to determine whether the dog was in fact responsible for Vadnais's death.

Coderresaid he had questions aboutbanning a dog breed like pit bulls, as other municipalities in Quebec and Canadahave done.

"In Toronto, they banned the breed, but there are just as many dog bites as before," he said.

He said owners also have to be held accountable, and the city's new regulations mayconsider actions targeting them.

A spokesperson forCoun.Anie Samson, themember of the city's executive committeewho is responsible for the file, called Wednesday's attack a "tragic event" and said her office was following the situation closely.

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