But if an incident hasn't occurred, how is the dog vicious? An incident doesn't necessarily have to be an attack. I don't know the Edmonton bylaw, so I don't know how they determine that.
I am all for punishing bad owners. A vicious X (any larger breed) can do as much damage as a pitbull and I have seen pitbulls that work as therapy dogs and are very gentle. They have gotten a bad rap because they are seem to be the dog of choice for crappy owners at the moment.
The general public is in no more danger from pitbulls than from any other large dog if it attacks. If we outlaw pitbulls, we punish people who obey the law and those are not the owners whose dogs we need to be afraid of. The people who keep vicious dogs unattended in their backyards (like the one in Montreal) either won't follow a ban or will keep a different vicious dog unattended in their backyard.
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