By Dan Ferguson
Staff Reporter, Surrey Leader

In response to a critical Workers' Compensation Board report, an SPCA spokesperson has promised that stricter safety procedures are in the works to prevent another incident like the June 18, 2003 dog attack that seriously injured Delta animal control officer Amanda Muir.
"We want to do whatever we can to comply [with the report recommendations]," communications director Lorie Chortyk said Wednesday.
As first reported in The Leader, a WCB review has found the B.C. animal agency's employees lack adequate training in handling "potentially vicious" dogs.
Muir was injured when the rottweiler guard dog she was transporting to the Tsawwassen Animal Hospital for treatment unexpectedly turned on her, crushing her arms in its jaws.
The WCB investigation, released Jan. 15 in response to a request by The Leader, said Muir was not properly trained to assess the threat posed by a "potentially vicious dog" away from SPCA premises "in the field."
It found the SPCA violated occupational health and safety regulations that require "appropriate written instructions" to prevent worker injuries and the "information, instruction, training and supervision necessary to ensure the health and safety" of workers.
The report also said animal control officers lacked equipment, such as dog muzzles, to reduce risk of attack.
Chortyk said the SPCA began a review of its dog handling protocols in the wake of the Tsawwassen incident, which is still in progress.
She defended the training SPCA animal control officers receive in threat assessment as "state-of-the-art," noting Muir had completed a three-day training session on "recognizing aggression in dogs" shortly before she was attacked.
The animal that bit Muir was a guard dog that gave no warning it would attack, Chortyk noted, pointing to reports that the animal stood wagging its tail after its first bite as though nothing had happened.
"This dog went from no signals (of aggression) to attack, and that's really, really rare."
The SPCA is discussing an overhaul of its procedures with the WCB that could include a requirement that two animal officers must be called when a potentially threatening dog is being transported.
It could also require any guard dog to be treated as though it were a vicious dog, no matter how calm the animal appears to be.
No matter what is done, Chortyk warns there will always be incidents where animal control officers get hurt in the line of duty.
"(We) can't completely eliminate the possibility that nothing will happen."
Funding the new rules is another issue for the financially strapped SPCA, Chortyk added.
"Realistically, we're not going to have the resources to have two officers on hand for every dog call," Chortyk said.
"The challenge is that we have so few resources. If we buy muzzles in all sizes (as the WCB report suggests), that's money that will have come from somewhere else.