Vancouver Sun June 19, 2004
WESTCOAST NEWS
Experts in dogfight over Rottweiler
Police search for dog set free by SPCA workers by Chris Johnson

Suspended SPCA worker Amanda Muir, who was mauled earlier by a Rottweiler dog (not the one shown) says Cheech can be rehabilitated.

Dog experts are debating whether it's too late to teach a young dog new tricks -- or at least better manners.

Delta police say they're looking for Cheech, a young black-and-tan Rottweiler that disappeared before he could be destroyed, after he allegedly threatened a dog tester at a Delta animal shelter.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals believes he should be put down, but Delta SPCA volunteers say Cheech's bark is worse than his bite.

TV dog show host Amanda Muir, suspended by the SPCA for allegedly taking Cheech, denied she is harbouring him after the dog went missing Wednesday.

"He's a puppy, and with the right rehabilitation and training will grow up to be a perfectly sound companion," says Muir, who was mauled last year by a nine-year old Rottweiler.

"There's no comparison between the two. That's why I made a plea for his life. He's been making progress. He does have a fear of some men approaching with objects. But he hasn't bitten anyone or attacked anyone."

SPCA staff say it's too late to teach Cheech.

"All of the people who assessed the dog since April ... say he's too dangerous to be in the community," says SPCA spokeswoman Lorie Chortyk.

"He has very high, fear-based, learned aggression. He can be very affectionate at one moment. But then when someone's back is turned, he can attack them."

Deborah Wolf, a volunteer at the shelter who plans to protest at the Delta SPCA at 11:30 a.m. today, disagrees.

"He still mouths," she says. "It's a puppy trait, a form of affection. He gently puts his mouth around your arm and hand, without biting."

She says Cheech's personality tests were unfair.

"You put him in a cage with a stranger coming at him, my dog would have done the same thing. A lot of wonderful family pets would be aggressive if backed into a corner."

Muir says that after an initial test May 13, Cheech went out peacefully in public with volunteer dog walkers. She claims the shelter's manager ordered a new test after Cheech growled at her in the office.

Wolf says she begged to spend five minutes with the dog.

"They said no. We want to take him right now," she claimed. "I spend hundreds of hours and hundreds of dollars volunteering at the SPCA helping these animals. And they wouldn't give me five minutes. They wanted him dead right away. I said to them 'What's the big hurry. You guys are monsters. He's kissing us and wagging his tail'."

However, SPCA staff maintain Cheech is bad to the bone, a belief backed up by a temperament test used to assess thousands of dogs over seven years in England.

After showing on the first test that he had anger management issues, Cheech got "progressively worse in the shelter," said Nadine Gourkow, animal welfare manager of the SPCA office in Vancouver.

During the second test, Cheech "showed he had a very high level of fearfulness" by growling, showing teeth, jumping up and down, and cornering himself in the back of the cage, she says. Then, when the dog tester wasn't looking, Cheech lunged at him.

"He has learned that aggression works to keep people away," she says. "He will lunge and be very aggressive. Or he may wait until you're turned around and not looking, and then attack you. He has to unlearn that the best strategy is to attack. Where are we going to do this?"

Dr. Stanley Coren, a Vancouver dog expert, says he'd like to see more funding for animal shelters, instead of spending $500,000 on moving Luna the lonely whale. He thinks there's still hope to retrain Cheech.

"Generally at that age there's still enough time to solve a psychological problem," says Coren, a UBC psychology professor and author of a dozen books, including the recent How to Speak Dog.

"If someone has established a relationship with the dog where they can wander off with it, it might be the best thing for the dog. Just have them sign the waiver saying the SPCA isn't responsible. Give the dog the benefit of the doubt. It's a living thing. If it doesn't work out, they can always being it back and euthanize it."

The SPCA says that's no walk in the park. "We have a moral and legal duty not to put the public at risk," says Chortyk.