"Dangerous dog": BC court orders the destruction of Kujo

Feb 6 2023, 7:57 pm

A BC Supreme Court case focused on a dog named Kujo and was trying to determine whether it was dangerous and should be put down.

According to a decision document detailing the court case, a Port Coquitlam officer applied to find that Kujo, a male pitbull, was a “dangerous dog” defined by the City of Port Coquitlam Community Charter and that Kujo should be destroyed.

The dog’s owner, Sharon Bennett, did not attend the hearing but was represented by her counsel, Mr. Larmer.

A “dangerous dog” is defined as a dog that has either killed or seriously injured a person or another domestic animal while in a public place or private property other than the property owned or occupied by the person responsible for the dog and that an animal control officer has reasonable grounds to believe it is likely to kill or seriously injure someone.

According to the BC Supreme Court document, Kujo had been impounded since September 15, 2021, following an incident.

In August of 2021, Kujo was running at large near an elementary school when a passerby named Ms. Smith put him on a spare leash.

“Kujo became startled by a passing man and took off, dragging Ms. Smith along a gravel road.”

Smith had suffered injuries, including bruises and scratches.

On September 15, while impounded, Kujo attempted to leap at someone employed at Countryside Kennels. A video was taken showing Kujo’s aggressive behaviour. The next day, another employee at the kennels was bitten by Kujo when she attempted to take him for a walk, “breaking through the nail” on the thumb of her left hand. Kujo then bit her right arm, gripping it for several seconds.

She “attempted to push Kujo away, and he lunged at her, tearing through her shirt.”

Kujo then bit her foot and bruised her shin. She was treated at Eagle Ridge hospital. The court document states that she had numbness in her wrists for nearly two months after the attack and bruising for several months.

A shelter attendant took Kujo out to the courtyard in early August. After petting Kujo “for some time,” the attendant no longer felt safe and got up to leave when Kujo bit her hand.

The court case also had evidence from a bylaw enforcement officer with Port Coquitlam animal control. The issues date back to 2020 when Kujo was impounded after biting his owner.

The officer said, “There have been multiple complaints about Kujo, that he has been caught running at large 22 times and bitten people four times.”

A tragic aspect of this case is that the dog’s owner is homeless and resides at a camp at Gates Park in Port Coquitlam. Unfortunately, the dog’s owner would not agree to surrender Kujo voluntarily but also could not restrain Kujo due to being homeless.

Ultimately, the BC court found Kujo was a dangerous dog and should be destroyed through euthanasia.

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