From: Lorie Chortyk <lchortyk@spca.bc.ca>
Date: Friday, June 18, 2004 1:32 pm
Subject: Cheech
Dear Lana,
Thank you very much for your email regarding Cheech. We do appreciate what an emotional issue this is for everyone involved. As you mentioned, Amanda has been through a lot during the past year and we do take her opinion seriously, as we do with all of our employees.
The dilemma with Cheech's situation is that while he is fine with some women, he has shown escalating aggression, particularly towards young and adult males.
There have been numerous situations since he has been with us where he has shown a dangerous level of aggression towards people at the shelter.
His behaviour is unpredictable -- he is very friendly in some situations but then turns on other people with no provocation (you may recall the case of Shenica White -- the teenager who was mauled by two dogs in Vancouver last year. The very next day the same dogs involved in the vicious attack were very friendly, wagging their tails and giving kisses. This is the kind of unpredictable behaviour that Cheech has exhibited).
We have had several people involved in Cheech's rehabilitation efforts and case management. The unanimous agreement and recommendation by the assessors is that, based on Cheech's temperament and behaviour, he cannot be safely placed in the community.
We understand the emotional attachment that Amanda has to the dog - she is a very caring person. But she is not alone in caring about the dog -- no one at the SPCA ever takes a euthanasia decision lightly, which is why we brought in so many people to be part of the rehabilitation attempts.
While our hearts are with Cheech, we also have a moral and legal responsibility to ensure that a dangerous dog is not knowingly placed in the community. The public rightfully demands that we will do due diligence to ensure that the animals we adopt out do not pose a physical threat to the community. For us to ignore this responsibility, no matter how emotionally attached we are to the animals in our shelters, would be a violation of the trust placed in us.
Thank you for allowing us to share our concerns in this case.
Regards,
Lorie
Lorie Chortyk,
General Manager, Community Relations
BC SPCA
1245 East 7th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5T 1R1
Ph. 604.647.1316 Fax. 604.681.7022
Cell 604.830.7179
www.spca.bc.ca <" target="l">http://www.spca.bc.ca/>
> lchortyk@spca.bc.ca <')" >loriec@spca.bc.ca>