Just what AAS has been saying: Everyone is punished except the one that ought to be, the person who chains a dog and makes it so anti-social that it attacks when it gets loose. The dog that attacks, and the person attacked, are both victims of inhumane persons who chain dogs, and of municipalities that permit chaining.

This has to change! What has the SPCA ever done but kill the dogs? Has it gone to any council and insisted that a bylaw banning unsupervised yard dogs be adopted? No - it has not! Every local council and the BC SPCA are indirectly responsible for every dog that attacks.

Postie's suit over dog bite thrown out of court

Keith Fraser
The Province
Monday, November 17, 2003

A Surrey letter carrier who claimed she was seriously bitten by a dog while delivering the mail has had her lawsuit for damages dismissed by the B.C. Supreme Court.

Barbara Joanne Weeks testified that she was attacked after the animal, a cross-breed German shepherd, husky and Labrador retriever, broke free of his chain.

She sued the dog owners, Krzysztof and Dorota Baloniak of Surrey, for negligence in failing to train, secure and control their dog.

The Baloniaks denied their dog Alf bit Weeks or if it did, it was with provocation.

Two other letter carriers said they had been chased by Alf, but the owners denied the dog had ever bitten anyone or had a propensity to attack.

A supervisor for Weeks testified that she checked the Canada Post records and could find no evidence of previous problems with the animal.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice John Truscott found that apart from the two other letter carriers, all other witnesses described Alf as friendly and non-aggressive.

"My conclusion is that there is no evidence that the Baloniaks knew or ought to have known of their dog's propensity to bite," said the judge.

Dorota Baloniak said she feels "great" about the ruling, but is sad that she had Alf put down on a recommendation from the SPCA shortly after the March 2001 incident.

"I really regret that. I really miss my dog."

Harold Burwash, one of the posties to testify, said yesterday he was "surprised" by the ruling and felt that the dog had acted viciously towards him.

"Obviously the problem is that there wasn't enough written documentation on this," said Burwash, who recently had a cast on his arm removed from another dog attack.

Canada Post spokesman Bob Taylor said records are kept of all dog bites of letter carriers.

"If there are in fact reports filed, they could be produced," he said.

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