Autopsy confirms B.C. boy died of dog bite, Edmonton police still investigating

April 4, 2024 Canuck

An autopsy has confirmed an 11-year-old boy who was the victim of a fatal dog attack earlier this week died of a dog bite.

The boy, who has been identified by his grandmother as Kache, was a Grade 5 student from B.C.

He and his mother moved from Alberta to B.C. last year.

He was in Edmonton visiting his father for spring break when he was fatally attacked by two large dogs on Monday.

The dogs were seized by animal control and remain in custody.

Kache’s grandmother told CTV News Edmonton her grandson’s father rented a room in the house from the woman who owned the two dogs.

The Edmonton Police Service says the manner of death is pending further investigation.

Police are still investigating and there is no word on any charges.

The City of Edmonton confirmed on Tuesday there had been two previous attack complaints filed about the dogs in 2024.

One of the complaints is still under investigation, the other did not result in any charges.

Additionally, multiple barking complaints about the dogs were received in 2023.

The breed of the dogs has not officially been released, but Kache’s grandmother says they are Cane Corsos.

The councillor that represents the ward where the attack happened says the city is in the process of updating the existing animal control licensing bylaw.

“I have received complaints of other quite serious, aggressive dog attacks in the past. Not fatalities like this incident, but certainly lots of just concern,” Keren Tang told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday.

“This is a bylaw that’s more than 20 years old. It’s time for a refresh.”

Tang says the first phase of public engagement has just wrapped up, with thousands of people weighing in, adding a review and report on the bylaw will be presented to council early next year.

“There is still pretty extensive public engagement that needs to happen,” she said.

“We have to think about what does respect responsible pet ownership look like? What does the research say about breed-specific regulations?”

A behavioural consultant who helps people understand their dogs says the breed of a dog is irrelevant, the dog’s behaviour comes down to the signals they receive from their owners.

“Humans tend to give dogs poor information with the best intentions,” Neal Espeseth told CTV News Edmonton.

“It’s called anthropomorphism, and it’s giving morality to a dog using human terms and definitions.”

Espeseth says it’s not fair to ask a dog to react like a human would in any given situation because their brains are wired differently.

“We have to give them specific information that they can actually understand. And if that information is confused or conflicted, then the dog may interpret that information as something else.”

He encourages any dog owner who is struggling with behavioural issues to seek professional help.

Edmonton’s mayor has also promised an investigation into how the city handled the previous attack complaints.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nav Sangha

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