More rules need to be in place for dog owners to protect their pets from other dogs, says Texada Island resident and dog owner Cindy Gallagher.
Gallagher and her husband Phil Corbin recently lost their dog TeAmo, a Shih Tzu-Lhasa Apso cross, after an attack by a larger dog just outside the Van Anda trailer park where they live.
“There has be a bylaw to protect dogs against other dogs,” said Gallagher. “Something has to be done.”
According to an account by Gallagher, the attack occurred on Monday, August 15, near the couple’s business, a food stand close to Centennial Service gas station. The couple’s visiting granddaughter had both of the couple’s dogs on leashes and was waiting outside when a large dog, also from the trailer park, attacked.
“Phil was at the back of the truck and heard a large yelp from TeAmo and ran out to see a large dog on top of her,” said Gallagher. “When she crouched down, trying to get away, it bit deep into her back, then Phil yelled at it and the dog released his grip, lifted his head and took off with Phil running after it.”
Gallagher and Corbin were able to transport TeAmo to a veterinary clinic in Powell River where X-rays showed the dog had sustained serious injuries, including broken ribs and a punctured chest cavity and lung.
Although the veterinarian managed to stabilized the dog, TeAmo died that night.
In the days following, Gallagher said she contacted police, local government and even the province, looking for a way to make sure the same thing did not happen to other dogs living in the area.
As a result, Gallagher found that beyond police having a process for dealing with dangerous dogs, neither BC SPCA nor Powell River Regional District are able to deal with the issue.
“We don’t play a role in animal control,” said BC SPCA Powell River branch manager Brandy Craig.
Craig said her office regularly receives calls from people who have had problems similar to Gallagher, but she directs them to make their complaints to Powell River RCMP.
“We do receive a lot of calls,” she said, “usually from really upset people. We don’t have any jurisdiction to do anything; people just assume we do. There’s a lot of confusion about who is responsible.”
Regional district chief administrative officer Al Radke confirmed that regional district rural electoral areas, including Texada Island, do not have any domestic animal control or welfare bylaws on the books, though City of Powell River does.
When asked about the number of calls regional district staff receive on the issue, Radke said his office receives very few.
“Residents don’t send their calls to us, now they may send them to the SPCA or to RCMP, but very rarely do we get any dog-related phone calls,” said Radke.
Radke said RCMP can deal with dangerous dogs through a provision in the Local Government Act and Community Charter. He said the regional district board has not asked his staff to develop any bylaws to deal with domestic animals.
Powell River RCMP sergeant Kevin Day said the issue of the attack is currently under investigation. He added that police have not yet determined if the dog in question is dangerous.
If the dog is deemed dangerous it would give police the power to seize the animal and apply to the courts to have it destroyed, said Day.
“It’s ultimately up to a justice whether the dog will be destroyed or not,” said Day.
Gallagher said even though she is angry about losing her dog, she does not want to see TeAmo’s attacker destroyed.
“I don’t want any dog destroyed, but I definitely want it completely confined, so it has no way to escape,” she said. “It’s not right, what happened to TeAmo.”
