'It’s not my dog that’s going to get killed': Pet owners face off in B.C. legal fight
A fight between a Jack Russell terrier mix and a German Shepherd made it to B.C.’s small claims court.
In a recently published Civil Resolution Tribunal, the applicant (the owner of Dash, the Jack Russell) and the respondent (the owner of Violet, the German Shepherd) had a difference of opinion about which dog was the aggressor.
The applicant said that he was out walking Dash at about 6:20 a.m. on Sept. 18, 2024, when he saw Violet charging towards them, barking and growling.
In response, the applicant said he grabbed Dash by the collar and sprayed Violet four or five times with a dog and coyote repellent when she was about five feet away. He said this wasn’t enough to stop her from attacking Dash, and he jumped onto Violet, losing his grip on Dash’s collar.
He said that the respondent “jumped him from behind and tackled Violet.” In turn, the applicant said he “quickly spun around and sprayed the repellent” at the respondent.
While this briefly startled Violet and gave Dash a chance to start running away, Violet started following him. The applicant said he yelled at the respondent to get control of his dog, to which he replied: “‘It’s not my dog that’s going to get killed.'”
The applicant, his partner, and neighbour all got in their vehicles and began searching for the dogs. He called 911 to report a “dangerous dog at large” and the assault.
In the meantime, his partner called him and told him that he had found Dash, who was bleeding with visible bite marks. While the applicant was calling a vet, the respondent drove to his house and began yelling, cursing, and threatening them from inside his truck, while filming them.
The respondent left after he learned the police had been called.
What’s the other side of the story?
The respondent has a nearly completely different version of the incident. He said he was out walking Violet shortly after 6 a.m. when Dash ran down the street, off-leash and barking at him.
He said Violet ran up to Dash to protect him from harm, and that he then went to the dogs and was about to grab Violet’s collar when the applicant assaulted him by spraying pepper spray into his face and at Violet.
The respondent then searched the streets for Violet and found her at his home.
“He could not breathe or see very well because of the pepper spray. He called 911 to report the assault. Paramedics attended his home at 6:40 a.m. and treated his injured skin and eyes,” reads the tribunal.
The respondent missed one day of work. He denies driving to the applicant’s house to yell at him, saying that the paramedics were at his house treating him.
So, what’s the verdict?
The tribunal ultimately agreed with the applicant, since he provided both a municipality’s redacted incident file and a redacted RMCP incident report, which backed up his version of the events.
The applicant was awarded a total of $1,551.60, which included $1,348.61 for Dash’s vet bill, $77.99 in interest and a reimbursement of $125 in CRT fees.