Killer dog stolen from SPCA
Puppy goes missing as her fate is to be announced
Kent Spencer, The Province
Published: Friday, January 06, 2006
On the eve of a ruling on the fate of three pit bulls that savagely killed a pet cat, one of the trio has mysteriously disappeared.
Norm Nikkel, administrator of the North Shore Animal Shelter, told The Province he was "quite alarmed" when the Vancouver SPCA informed him that a four-month-old pit bull had vanished from a locked area.
The animals were being kept by the Vancouver SPCA, which holds the animal-control contract for the City of North Vancouver.
"The safety of the public is involved," said Nikkel. "I want to know what the Vancouver SPCA is doing to recover it."
Nikkel said the district will discuss the fate of the adult dogs during a meeting with the owners today.
"Destruction is one [option]," he said. "We have to go by the evidence of what happened on private property. We're hearing from a great many people. Grandparents are walking children to school. It's being treated with a high priority."
Karim Goldan and Abtin Kanani, the dogs' owners, say destruction is not an option.
"We're not going to let them die," said 23-year-old Goldan. "The dog is like a part of our family.
"You turn away and the dogs are gone -- it's not like we're doing it intentionally. I know people are scared. If it's such a big issue, people should get more educated about dogs."
"Killing the cat was a mistake," conceded 18-year-old Kanani. "The dogs got out. When an accident happens, it happens. It's not like the dog is wild -- any dog would attack a cat. The dogs would not go after people."
The owners are facing fines of up to $100 each for dogs being unmuzzled and unconfined.
The district took the unusual step yesterday of issuing a press release asking for witnesses to the Dec. 24 attack.
"The press release may be a first," said Nikkel. "We need to get a statement from every witness to solidify our evidence."
Neighbours say they have put up with the dogs running loose for three years.
"I am very scared," said Elizabeth Mah. "A lot of children use the alleyway. The dogs bark. Just the look of a pit bull scares me."
Shiela Hughes, the owner of the cat that died, described the killing as an "absolute frenzy."
"It was like something out of Animal Kingdom," she said. "The dogs probably need to be put down -- and the owners can thank themselves for that."
The trio got loose from their home in the 400-block West 25th Avenue and travelled eight blocks to Hughes' property.
King is a white male belonging to Kanani; Goldan owns Alize, a brown female. Shine is the pair's four-month-old female puppy.
Meantime, SPCA spokeswoman Lorie Chortyk said she doesn't know how the theft occurred.
"It doesn't look like the lock was broken," said Chortyk. "Vancouver police are investigating."
A Delta SPCA worker once stole a dog on death row in a well-publicized case to rescue the animal, but Chortyk said she doesn't believe volunteers are involved.
"It's a coincidence," she said.
- The torso of a cat with a severed head and legs was found on a woman's front lawn in Burnaby.
Police said yesterday the woman has no idea why it happened or who the cat belongs to.
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© The Vancouver Province 2006