Borough officials in Montréal-Nord say the dog that severely injured two children and attacked four other people nearly a year and a half ago will finally be put down.

A four-year-old girl needed 16 stitches to close her head wounds, and her seven-year-old brother had to undergo emergency surgery and was left with a broken arm after the dog attacked the children in their grandmother's apartment on Aug. 20, 2018.

The dog injured four children and two adults, in total, before it was brought under control.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said at that time that the dog would likely be euthanized.

But the dog, described by police as "a one-and-a-half-year-old pit bull that weighed 70 pounds," has been held at the Montreal SPCA ever since. Its euthanasia was put on hold while the case was under investigation.

Criminal charges were never laid against the dog's owner or the woman responsible for the children's care.

Submitted to Radio-Canada by Sylvain Proulx More

Montreal lawyer and animal rights activist Anne-France Goldwater launched a legal battle to save the dog. She wanted it evaluated by a veterinarian and sent to a refuge for dangerous dogs in New York state.





Montreal's decision to euthanize the animal was upheld in Quebec Superior Court, as well as by the Quebec Court of Appeal. Goldwater had threatened to fight all the way to the Supreme Court, but she has since dropped the case.

Dogs at risk to undergo behavioural assessment

In a statement Tuesday, the borough said Montreal has taken note of the Court of Appeal's ruling regarding the need to conduct a behavioural assessment of a dog at risk, except in cases of immediate danger.

That step has been integrated into the city's protocol for managing dangerous dogs, the borough said.





Goldwater said the court's ruling is "good news for the canine community, especially outside of Montreal, where the rules are more often ignored."

While describing herself as a "fervent defender of animal rights," she said her decision to drop the case was made in the interest of the dog as Quebec does not have the proper resources to care for the animal during a prolonged legal battle.

The borough says the dog will be euthanized by a competent professional as soon as the courts give the green light.