Sad news out of Canada

Johnny was shot in my aunts apartment

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aiw said:

WHAT?!!! The cops came into her house and shot her dog?! After his first incident? Didn't even take him to AC for a temperament test, to confirm the accusation or at least for a humane euth. Thats just... monstrous. I don't even know what to say. Your aunt must be traumatized, my heart goes out to you all.

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WHAT?!!! The cops came into her house and shot her dog?! After his first incident?

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spanielorbust said:

I have no doubt that some police officers are heavy handed, but police do not get to barge into people's homes with the intent of shooting their dogs.

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police officers, who are for the most part wonderful people who often risk their own lives trying to protect our families.

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titiaamor said:

Back to Wicca and Montreal, Canada.....Wicca scratched a woman on the belly (resolved with a band-aid) and jumped on the responding EMT.

Quebec does not have animal control. Apparently the woman did not want Wicca put down. There's a gap in the story- why was an EMT called?

So terribly sad. We've come a long way, but still have a long way to go.

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MONTREAL - A female pit bull was put to death Thursday after an injunction request to stay the euthanization was denied in Quebec Superior Court Wednesday afternoon.

The dog, Wicca, was seized Monday by the Berger Blanc pound after weeks of legal wrangling and the dog owner disputing the facts of the case. According to court documents, Wicca jumped up on a female passerby on June 7 in Villeray, scratching and biting her abdomen. The dog later reportedly bit a paramedic who came to treat the passerby. The dog’s owner, Chris Papakostas, told The Gazette there is no proof the woman was bitten, only scratched, and he noted the paramedic’s version of the story changed between the police report and the court document. Neither the passerby nor the paramedic were treated in hospital.

Meanwhile, the city of Montreal says it is looking for a new way to deal with dogs deemed dangerous enough to be put down.

“If a dog harms, bites or attacks a person, there should only be one sentence and that’s euthanasia,” said Martine Painchaud, spokesperson for Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay. “But what we’re saying is that the owner who contests the euthanasia decision should have 24 hours to find an expert and do that.”

Painchaud said the clause will be included in an overhaul of animal control policies to be proposed by the central city to the boroughs this fall.

According to court documents, police felt the woman victim needed medical attention and they called an ambulance. The woman was treated on the scene and did not make a police report. A paramedic who went to Papakostas to ask whether the dog had all her shots said in a police report the animal “gripped” his pants with her teeth and that he felt pain in one testicle as a result. He was not hospitalized.

The dog “jumped up on him and her snout hit his crotch,” Papakostas countered. “It was my fault for letting her leash go a little bit after (the paramedic) said he was not afraid of dogs.”

In a letter written for Wicca, Papakostas apologized for the outcome and for not being able to protect her. The letter was posted on a Facebook page called Montreal Dog Blog.

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A pit bull was on death row Tuesday after two court orders to have it put down and a candle-lit vigil and a petition to save the animal. Officials say the dog bit a woman and a paramedic.

Lucie Bernier, a spokesperson for the borough of Villeray/St. Michel/Park Extension, where the dog apparently bit two people June 7, said “we don’t question court judgments.” The borough was waiting for the city’s legal department to say when the animal should be put down, although it was likely to be within 48 hours of when the dog was seized on Monday, she said.

Wicca, a 5 year-old American Staffordshire Bull Terrier, was being kept in detention at the Berger Blanc pound in east-end Rivière des Prairies. “All we’re waiting for is a fax with the order to carry out the euthanasia,” Alexandrine, an employee at Berger Blanc, said on Tuesday. “It’s up to the city now.”

But animal rights advocates said Wicca’s case highlights the fact that there is no humane protocol in place citywide for dogs that are deemed dangerous.

“Right now it’s up to a city (or borough) official to say if the dog should be put down or not,” said Sophie Gaillard, assistant director of animal advocacy at the SPCA in Montreal.

“Your dog could be defending you from an assailant and end up being ordered to be put down.”

Gaillard said the city of Montreal is considering new regulations for dogs that are deemed dangerous as it revamps the city’s animal control policies. She said animals should not be penalized because of their breed but should be evaluated by a trained animal behaviourist before it is to be euthanized.

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