Suspected puppy killer turns himself in
View Royal resident to appear in Campbell River court next month
Joanne Hatherly
Times Colonist
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
CREDIT: Photo submitted
Max Rose and dog Seymour.
CREDIT: Times Colonist file photo
Westshore RCMP detachment in Langford.
A View Royal man who allegedly shot and killed a four-month-old puppy on Quadra Island has turned himself in to the West Shore RCMP detachment in Langford.
The RCMP stated in a press release that Cody Wellard, 31, refused to provide a formal statement or to discuss what happened, but he did say the shooting was an accident.
He was released on a promise to appear in court in Campbell River on Oct. 13. The RCMP is seeking charges for careless use of a firearm and endangering an animal.
The puppy belonged to 12-year-old Max Rose who was working outside with his father, Nick Rose, 44, at their Quadra Island home on Saturday when two men with hunting vests and shotguns walked by.
The wire-coated Jack Russell pup bounded after the two men, even though the Roses repeatedly called the dog to return. Moments later, family members heard a single gunshot.
The family rushed to the scene to find their puppy named Seymour in his death throes with half of his head blown away.
The puppy had special significance for Max because it replaced another dog that the Roses had bought when Max was recovering from brain cancer. Both Jack Russell terriers came from the same mother.
Max's father doesn't believe the shooting was accidental.
"He shot that dog because he wanted to get even with me." Rose said his family and the Wellards, who live in the same neighbourhood on south Quadra Island, have avoided each other since a fracas four years ago when Wellard and another man crashed a birthday party at the Roses's house.
The second man who was with Wellard when the shooting occurred has still not been identified, and the investigation is continuing.
The community on Quadra Island has responded by donating funds to replace Seymour, and some have offered to give the family a new puppy.
Rose choked up over the phone as he tried to express his reaction to the community's outpouring of support. "It's a flashback to when my son was first diagnosed. I can barely describe it. It's very touching."
The family is grateful for the offers for a new puppy, but they want their next puppy to come from the same breeding line as Seymour and his predecessor.
The Rose's two children are still upset about the shooting that took place about 30 metres from their driveway.
"We have to move past this and look around and see how many wonderful, decent people are out there," Rose said. "For every one of these creeps in the world, there's hundreds, if not thousands, of decent people."
As to why the dog was running loose and the family didn't simply run out into the roadway to retrieve their dog, Rose said dogs on rural acreages aren't typically tied up and he didn't want to go after the dog at risk of having to confront the two men.
Lois Clough, owner of Salishan Terriers in South Surrey is the breeder who sold Seymour to the Roses.
"I was absolutely gutted when I heard about it. I was getting ready to go to my sister's wedding, and it absolutely ruined the day," Clough said.
"As a breeder, my first reaction was that poor little, lovely, charming dog, and my next reaction was this poor family having to deal with that whole situation. Who can understand the mind of a person who would blow a puppy's brains out in front of the family?"
Clough says when the Roses are ready to receive a new puppy, she will give them one without cost.
The Roses borrowed money to buy Seymour, and they will use the money well-wishers have been donating to cover that cost. They intend to donate all excess funds to the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Anyone wishing to make a donation should contact the Quadra Credit Union.
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