Surrey North Delta Leader
Reprieve for seized pit bulls

By Ryan Starr - Surrey North Delta Leader

Published: August 28, 2008 12:00 PM
Updated: August 28, 2008 2:41 PM

The last-minute intervention of a dog lovers’ group has ensured that a pack of embattled pit bulls won’t be destroyed – at least, not yet.

The pit bulls were seized in Vancouver earlier this month and are suspected to have been involved in a host of vicious attacks across the province over the past year.

The Surrey SPCA and City of Surrey – which had sought to destroy the animals – have agreed to allow an independent assessment to determine whether the dogs can be rehabilitated.

The matter was before Surrey Provincial Court Thursday with lawyer Kirk Tousaw representing a group of dog advocates who are seeking the assessment and offering to pay for it.

He filed an application for an intervention on behalf of his client, Lauren Phillips, a concerned citizen who felt a destruction order was “wildly premature.”

“What we asked for today was an adjournment so there was some time to determine whether these dogs in fact pose a danger to the public or whether they could be rehabilitated,” Tousaw said outside the courtroom.

“Our hope is we can get an expert in and take a look at the dogs, see if they can be rehabilitated and if so place them in good homes so they don’t have to be killed.”

Four pit bulls were found in a van that Vancouver Police pulled over Aug. 11, a day after a Surrey man and his dog were attacked by a pack of five pit bulls whose owner fled with them afterward.

Vancouver Animal Control seized three adult pit bulls and one puppy from the van and subsequently transferred them to the Surrey SPCA where they were impounded.

The city’s animal control officer Phil Greene* subsequently requested the destruction of the dogs, alleging they were involved in eight attacks in the past year, six of which were said to have occurred in Surrey.

Greene alleges the four seized pit bulls are owned by Hal Douglas Harris, who was driving the van the VPD pulled over.

According to Tousaw, one of the dogs is pregnant and may already have had puppies while in SPCA custody.

Two other dogs are puppies, he said, and the remaining pit bull – which Tousaw characterized as the “most vicious” of the bunch – has already been put down, with the consent of Harris and the City of Surrey.

Harris was in court Thursday, saying little throughout the proceedings.

When he stepped out of court, he was served with legal papers by a City of Surrey lawyer that relate to three dog attacks in Surrey in April, June and August – 24 counts in all.

A hearing date has been set for Sept. 25 to update the court on where the matter stands.

The trial date on the application to destroy the dogs is April 17, 2009, according to Tousaw.

“My concern was the (SPCA’s) application contained conflicting facts,” Tousaw added. “There were a number of different dogs and breeds of dogs identified. It’s unclear to me whether the dogs that are sought to be executed are in fact the dogs that perpetrated the attacks.”

rstarr@surreyleader.com

*AAS: Greene is employed by the BC SPCA not the City of Surrey. The City pays the BC SPCA and the BC SPCA pays Greene.

Hal Harris, the alleged owner of the pit bulls the SPCA is seeking to destroy, at Surrey Provincial Court Thursday.
Evan Seal / The Leader