The Campbell River SPCA has fined the Willow Point owner of two pit bulls that savagely and fatally attacked a dachshund three weeks ago.
But, the SPCA says it cannot publicly identify the owner of the killer dogs or even confirm if the fine has been paid. Nor can it say if and when the dogs might be seized or if they will be destroyed.
The attack took place as the small dog’s elderly walker and two traumatized children looked on in terror on the sidewalk outside a poorly fenced yard at the corner of Arnason Road and Westgate Road.
Now the brutal attack has prompted Willow Point resident Susan Bradley to speak out against community residents whose lack of responsibility for their pets’ behavior is turning her community into “Dogpatch.”
On Sept. 26, a pit bull escaped from its owner’s yard and attacked the dachshund as it was being walked by a man in the company of two children. A second pit bull leapt the fence and joined in the attack.
SPCA Branch Manager Kathleen Embree says the dogs were not seized and are still in their owner’s backyard. The dachshund died after it was taken to a local veterinary clinic.
Embree says: “I am very upset even talking about it. We are doing everything in our power to investigate this terrible incident.” But, she added: “We do not have these dogs in our care.” Embree said she understands that the owner has tethered the dogs to a logging boom chain and has built up the fence that his dogs jumped over.
But, news of the savage attack has the neighbourhood on edge. Bradley says: “In the last couple of weeks neighbours tell me to avoid the intersection of Arnason and Westgate. In fact, I have a friend who is so frightened that she won’t walk in the area anymore.”
Bradley said it is “a shame” the SPCA does not seem to have the authority to seize vicious dogs at the time of an attack. She added that “owners ought to be required to pay compensation for the damage their dogs do.”
“Friends who share their lovely animals with us know me to be foolishly fond of dogs but I am certainly getting less keen on owners. Shame on all you ignorant zeroes. It looks like we live in Dogpatch,” the Willow Point resident says.
Bradley says it’s not just pit bulls that need to be reined in by thoughtless owners. “This week, while walking leashed on the street, our neighbour’s dog was bitten by another dog and had to go to the vet.
And, a huge snarling dog chained in the back of a pickup truck in a parking lot nearly got me the other day,” she says.
As well, on a walk near the Simms Creek Bridge on Monday Bradley’s husband Dale was bitten on the leg by a small dog.
“The woman angrily told us that her dog never bites anyone and there must be something wrong with my husband for it to bite him. She demanded to see the mark and never once inquired if he was okay.
“She declined to give a contact name and marched off in indignation.”