The City of Prince Rupert has issued a statement related to events of Friday August 30th which saw a member of the detachment address a dangerous dog report on the city's east side.
In their notes the City outlined how the RCMP were required to make the difficult decision to euthanize a "designated dangerous dog" that was at large and behaving aggressively in the Seal Cove area between 10 AM and Noon.
In the city's update they note that the response by the members was only taken in view of the serious circumstance where it was considered that there was an immediate danger to the public.
"The Prince Rupert RCMP responded to a request to assist City Bylaws with a vicious dog. Based on the history of the dog attacking a member of the community and the dangerous and aggressive behaviour displayed during the interaction, police made the unfortunate decision to put the dog down, but it was necessary in order to maintain public safety,” -- Cpl. Alex Langley, Acting Operations NCO, RCMP.
 |
| Members of the Prince Rupert RCMP responded to a dangerous dog call in the Seal Cover area on Friday, with a need to euthanize the dog taken over its aggressive behaviour |
The city extended their sympathies to the owner of the dog and advise that the Prince Rupert detachment is expected to release their own statement before the weekend is over.
The city's response of late Friday afternoon can be reviewed here.
Updates: Early Sunday morning, the dog owner posted comments related to the incident to social media, which you can review here.
Also on Sunday morning, the RCMP issued their information release on the incident; relaying many of the same details as the City's update, along with some additional notes.
A dog was shot and killed by Prince Rupert RCMP that was acting aggressively in the residential neighborhood of Seal Cove ...
The Prince Rupert RCMP want to advise the public that this is not a decision that is taken lightly. This decision was made after extensive efforts to safely apprehend the animal became futile and the risk to the public became imminent.
You can review the full RCMP information release here.
The flow of information from the City of Prince Rupert continued into Sunday afternoon, as the City followed up on the RCMP statement with their own update through their Facebook page.
For more items of note related to Emergency Responders on the North Coast see our archive page here.
Other items of interest from the City of Prince Rupert can be reviewed from our Council Discussion archive.
To view the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.
This shooting of a terrified dog, no matter what breed, sounds completely out of line. My heart breaks for Choppo, how absolutely terrified he must have been. I also have dogs that like to flock off and run just for sport, and we worry sick they will get hit by a car even though we are right on their tail, but now to worry if they will get shot if they become scared and reactive?
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, being declared a dangerous dog does take some serious prior incidents and a muzzle would have prevented all this and Choppo's death. It is too late for Choppo but I certainly hope a serious investigation is done and preventative lessons are learned when it comes to a terrified animal that has become aggressive, for whatever the reason. Why is the Bylaw officer instructing RCMP to shoot a dog or is that a misprint? It stands to reason the Bylaws needs training in diffusing this type of situation, a catch pole, a tranquilizer gun. This sounds like a fearful dog reacting on instinct. Perhaps Choppo's fear was such that his quality of life was compromised or it was situational. I would bite a Postie who hit me with his/her bag too. Sadly, for whatever reason, a beautiful dog is now dead and I am certain everyone involved is traumatized. There has to have been a better way and I for one am challenging those involved to debrief and problemsolve a better solution should it happen again. I would love to see police have tranquilizer guns for bear situations, rather than shoot them, and a tranquilizer option for dogs that are crazed by fear and acting simply on instinct due to fear. PLEASE, FIND A BETTER WAY!
Thanks for taking the time to comment, though one note ...
ReplyDeleteThere is no indication in either the City advisory, or that of the RCMP as to the Bylaw officer instructing anyone to take any action on the situation in question. The RCMP does note that they "responded to a request to assist City Bylaws with a vicious dog.
The suggestion that the RCMP were instructed by the Bylaw officer appears to be the perception from the dog owners point of view.
The City may however wish to clarify the policies and procedures when it comes to such incidents for the public so there will be no confusion in the future.
NCR
A few years ago I was witness to the RCMP helping bylaw. Although I don’t remember seeing bylaw there. 2 officers 2 pit bulls. They were trying to contain the dogs. These were friendly dogs. Wagging tails approaching the officers when called and expecting a pet. The officers in turn pepper sprayed the dogs and tried to contain them with those long extending poles. FFWD 20 min and the police STILL did not have the dogs. I grabbed treats.....walked past the officers.....called the dogs, pet the dogs and led them both into the back seat of the cruiser. No word of a lie, took under 5 minutes. It was then the officers warned me to wash my hands as the dogs had pepper spray on them. Our city is not equipped to even collect dogs...nice dogs. It’s ridiculous. My heart goes out to the owner of this poor dog.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful dog? Sounds more like it was a menace and a threat to public safety. Good thing the police dispatched it before anybody was hurt. Rather than being traumatized local residents and passers by should feel relieved.
ReplyDeleteA note on Comments ... Please review our post at the bottom of the right hand column for guidelines as to what you need to know about the comment process.
ReplyDeletehttps://northcoastreview.blogspot.com/2018/01/a-word-on-commenting-process-for-blog.html
I wonder if there will be a memorial service when the owners get back from holidays?
ReplyDelete