Cowichan News Leader
Mar 6, 2004

By Doug Marner
A Rottweiller that attacked a girl at the A.B. Greenwell School playground has been destroyed after no one came forward to claim it.

Debra Juch, Lake Cowichan’s animal control officer, said two girls had been teasing the dog on the afternoon of Feb. 24. When the dog became aggressive, one of the girls started to run and the Rottweiller gave chase and bit her several times on her arms, leg and back.

The girl was taken to the Cowichan District Hospital in Duncan and treated for open wounds and lacerations.

“The dog has been impounded as a stray,” said Juch. “No one has claimed ownership, although I believe I know who the owner is.”

The dog was impounded in Duncan last Thursday and the owner had 72 hours to claim it. If the dog were claimed, the town would have applied for an order to destroy the animal, which would have to be granted by a judge.

“This would not have been as bad a situation if this had been a smaller dog, like a Yorkshire terrier, but it is a major problem when it’s a big dog like a Rottweiller,” said Juch. “This dog is 98 per cent great pet, two per cent community hazard.”

The stray Rottweiller had been kept in an old bus by the mother of one of the girls. The girl and her friend took the dog out of the bus to the playground