Dogsey

A Chihuahua has been put on the dangerous dog registry in the City of Windsor, Canada after 'nipping' a teenage girl. Eight-pound Misha now has to wear a muzzle and have a microchip implanted identifying her as dangerous, and her owner has to put up a sign in her yard warning others that a dangerous dog lives there.

The incident happened after three-year-old Misha slipped out when the door was opened and ran towards three teenage girls.

In her statement, Jessica Cosgrove wrote: "I shooed the dog with my foot. I realized it bit me." She stated that Misha also tried to bite her friend, Katherine, and “went after” the other friend. "She screamed and the dog kept barking," she wrote. "She shooed the dog with her foot."

One of the girls' parents went to the house, wanting to see paperwork, followed by an animal control officer, saying Misha was considered a dangerous dog.

Gerry Piche, stepfather to Misha's owner, Kristin Lees, spoke of his shock at the visit. “They showed up on several occasions. One time, there was two of them on the front porch. It was like the dog was a killer or something.

"I broke out laughing. I said, 'Look at the dog, do you see the dog going after you?' The guy kind of got upset when I started laughing at him. It's ridiculous."

As well as the muzzle, microchip and 'dangerous dog' sign, Ms Lees has to obtain liability insurance for at least $1 million and pay a $250 fine.

Twenty-two -year-old Kristin said she thinks it's “hilarious”. "I don't think it's right. If you can't protect yourself from this dog . . . It's an eight-pound dog. It blew my mind. How are you going to claim this dog is a dangerous dog? I'm not going to walk my dog down the street with a muzzle. That's what they're telling me I have to do."

Ms Lees has appealed the dangerous dog designation. A decision will be made next month by the Windsor Licensing Commission. If the appeal is unsuccessful, Misha will join fifteen dogs who are currently on the dangerous list in Windsor - a springer spaniel, a border collie, three huskies, a Dobermananan, two rottweilers, an American Eskimo, a boxer, two Jack Russell terriers and a shih tzu. The list includes two German shepherds, one of which had his ears chopped off before being rescued and subsequently biting someone.

Michael Chantler, deputy licence commissioner and supervisor of licensing said that size is not the issue and that it is still an animal which bites. “It's just the bite is smaller,” he said. “Every animal has the potential to bite and it could be a 10-pound chihuahua.”

Mr Chantler said the severity of the bite is irrelevant and that the dog doesn't have to bite, but can be labelled dangerous by just causing an injury, such as knocking a person down. Referring to a disagreement as to whether Misha broke skin, he said: “Whether the dog bit down hard or not is not up for discussion,” he said. “But people try to use that as a defence. ‘It wasn’t that bad.’ Well it doesn’t have to be that bad. It just has to be an injury. If your dog is causing injury to someone, I suggest to you that you have a dangerous dog. Domestic pets should not be causing injury to people.”

For Ms Lees' appeal to be successful, she must prove mitigating factors, such as the dog or owner being attacked, but Chantler said this is an “uphill battle”.

Al Maghnieh, a member of the licensing commission, said the city's bylaw needs to be updated and “made more logical”.

“We can improve that bylaw to not have to designate every single dog as dangerous because it was involved in somewhat of a light incident.”