WATCH: An update on that dog attack in Colwood. Four people were injured and several were forced to barricade themselves inside a house when a pit-bull went on the offensive. The owner is speaking out and defending the breed. Luisa Alvarez has more.
All bandaged up, Kyla Johnson is off work and recovering after her pit bull Rex attacked her and three other members of her family sending three of them to hospital.
“Something in him just switched like I don’t know what it was but it just switched and he went after my dad. He jumped on top of my dad and went after him and I jumped on top of the dog,” said Johnson.
She says loud noise seemed to have triggered Rex, disputing police’s claim that it was a house part. Johnson says her fiance and dad were drinking and playing Call of Duty in the room next door.
“The dog started yelping cause he got scared of voices being raised so we all calmed down. They were just upset that they had been dying in the game,” said Johnson.
Johnson insists the fact that her dog was a pit bull is irrelevant.
“We don’t know the history of the dog we don’t know if he was abused and we tried to take every caution that we could pit bulls aren’t a mean dog its how they are bread,” Johnson said.
Rex was a four-and-a-half=year-old rescue Johnson adopted six months ago. All she knows is that Rex had been owned by three different owners before her and up until Saturday morning, he was the ideal companion.
“He would roll around in the grass. We would go for walks together and if I was crying he would jump on my lap and start licking away all my tears,” said Johnson. “He was a good dog.”
Canine Behaviorist Andrew Lemon says certain sounds or situations can trigger a memory response in dogs and if the memory is one of abuse, the dog will react as if its back in that situation.
“They just respond. They react on that foundational level. A lot of yelling or fast body movements that triggers something and its very common for animals and people to go into fight or flight,” said Lemon.
Like Johnson Lemon believes, the stereotype attached to pit bulls is unfair.
“You can get any temperament in any dog,” said Lemon. “There is no such thing as a temperament of a German Shepard or a temperament of a pit bull of a temperament of a poodle. You cant tell me about an entire breed in one breath it wouldn’t be accurate.”
And Chief Bylaw Officer Don Brown says after sixteen years of service he can’t say any breed is more likely to attack than others.
“We get bites from all kinds of dogs small dogs big dogs mixed breeds there is no real specific dog that is responsible for most of the attacks,” said Brown.
Rex has been surrendered to CRD animal control. He will be evaluated and most likely euthanized.
Luisa Alvarez
