Montreal police have not determined if they will recommend charges after a woman died following a pit bull terrier attack in her backyard.

Neighbours on Edgar Prairie St. spotted the dog mauling the 55-year-old woman around 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

Farid Benzenati could not say if the woman was already dead when he spotted her, and at first thought the dog was playing with a toy.

"I realized it was a dog, a big dog, that looked like it was playing, more and more I saw the toy -- in quotation marks, a big toy, in quotation marks -- and I got closer and I realized it was a body, the body of a woman, in fact. because I saw her hair and I thought it was my neighbour," he said.

"I hadn't recognized her because her eyes were closed, her skin, she was naked. So I called police right away."

Police rushed to the scene and shot and killed the dog because it was being so aggressive, and have since questioned the dog's owner, a man in his twenties.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, but her identity has not been disclosed because police are still notifying all of her next of kin.

Police said they will wait for autopsy results to determine if they will recommend charges of negligence causing death. 

Some neighbours have told CTV Montreal the dog was dangerous, and that it has bitten people on two other occasions. 

Another neighbour said the dog's family was very nice, and she never witnessed any aggressive behaviour. 

Debate over animal regulations 

The death by dog mauling comes as the city of Montreal is trying to come up with an island-wide bylaw to regulate pets.

Different boroughs and suburbs have different regulations, with Outremont having a ban on pit bulls, while they are allowed elsewhere.

The borough of St. Laurent passed a ban on pit bulls years ago, only to rescind it after the SPCA warned it would no longer provide services if the breed-specific ban continued.

It's an emotional issue, with agencies like the SPCA arguing there are no dangerous breeds, just incompetent or dangerous owners.

On the other hand those who believe breeds are dangerous compile statistics showing pit bulls frequently bite and kill other dogs and people.

Last week Mayor Denis Coderre said it's an issue that needs more study.

"It's not a matter of specific race necessarily, but sometimes specific examples tend to contradict that," said Coderre. 

"Some of the veterinations of the association were saying that instead of focusing on a race we should focus on the culture, how to treat the animal."

In Chateauguay residents lobbied in 2015 to overturn a 20-year-old ban on pit bulls after city officials told one man to move or his dog would be euthanized, but that legal change has yet to happen.

This happened as several pit bull attacks in St. Michel, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, and Brossard made headlines.

Meanwhile Quebec's government said it is not going to regulate the issue -- yet.

"We need probably a more global discussion over this, but right now the powers are in the hands of the cities. The cities have all the powers necessary to intervene, to decide on their territory how they want to manage this thing," said Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux.

In a statement, Parti Quebecois Municipal Affairs critic Martin Ouellet criticized Coiteux, saying the issue of civic autonomy must take a backseat to public safety and that Quebec should examine following Ontario's lead in banning pit bulls.

"I ask Minister Coiteux to show leadership and pragmatism on this issue and handle it at the national level," he said. "I think we need to examine this together so that people feel safe in every neighbourhood, town and city in Quebec."

Pit bulls are banned throughout the province of Ontario, with pit bull owners not even permitted to travel across the province with their dogs because they can be euthanized if caught.