Report to AAS: Chained German shepherd

Posted By: AAS <office@animaladvocates.com>
Date: Tuesday, 24 December 2002, at 1:07 p.m.

In Response To: Savage dog attack in Vancouver (AAS)

(Anonymous letter received by AAS, December 17/02)

I am sending pictures of a beautiful German Shepherd dog in my neighbourhood that deserves a better life. He is young (probably 10 - 12 months old) and still friendly. But it won't be long until he is ruined. He is tied up 24/7 on a short cable with no adequate shelter. The poor guy is starving for attention. There is easy access to him from the lane.

I hope you can help this dog in some way.

(No signature)

December 18, 2002

Craig Daniell,
General Manager, Investigations
BC SPCA

Dear Mr Daniell,

Animal Advocates Society has been pleased to see the amount of investigation and seizure you have accomplished since taking the job of General Manager, Investigations, at the BC SPCA. Your work has made us (cautiously) optimistic that the BC SPCA will start apply the PCA act and its own guidelines to help chained and isolated yard dogs in BC. To the best of our ability to know, to date it has done little.

I hope you have had the opportunity to read the AAS report "IT'S TIME!" in which we describe the conditions of severe social (and sometimes physical) neglect of many dog in Vancouver. We presented it to the City of Vancouver June 2001.

The City chose to expect the BC SPCA to do something for these dogs rather than adopt a bylaw that would permit it to help these dogs.

AAS intends to go back to the new City Council early in 2003. We will point out that this dog's conditions are not only inhumane and contravene the BC SPCA's Dog Care Guidelines, but that this dog may very well become desocialized to the point of being a risk to public safety.

This dog is only one of many that will be in our updated report to the City. One has already bitten.

We ask that you seize this dog if the owner will not surrender it and that you permit AAS to help with its rehabilitation and rehoming. The SPCA says that it is working with other animal rescue and welfare groups and we ask that we be included. We do not want to be responsible for setting wheels in motion that could result in this dog being euthanized for failing the assessment test (see following correspondence re "Dicky") or to be sold to another neglector.

We will provide the address of this dog if you can first assure us that you will investigate to confirm the allegations made by the complainant are true, and that we will be allowed to assist with this dog's recovery and rehoming.

We hope that you will accept our offer and we look forward to a future where we work with an SPCA that is doing its best to honestly realize its mandate to prevent cruelty.

Sincerely,

Judy Stone
President, Animal Advocates Society of BC
cc: The President and Board of Directors, BC SPCA

On Dec 23rd we sent this letter to the City of Vancouver.

We have had no response from either.