A disturbing dog attack has us on edge this week.
Last Saturday, Dana Urbanski was out walking with her Pomeranians Pepper and Hondo along the off-leash Kinnikinnick trails. It's a walk she has done many times - without incident. This particular walk, however, would end in an unthinkable tragedy.
She says her dog was attacked and killed by another dog that was out on the trail with its owner. The situation was scary and awful for Urbanski, but the most horrendous aspect is that she didn't receive any assistance from the dog owner.
He never stepped in to help or try to quell the situation, never offered to help Urbanski, and possibly gave her false information when she asked where he lived. He said he was not from the Coast and walked away from the scene with his two dogs in tow.
Pepper died on the way to the Sechelt Animal Hospital - a sad and needless end to this dog's life. We can only imagine the pain and suffering that Pepper went through in his final minutes. And the pain and suffering that Urbanski continues to feel has now turned to anger. She wants some answers, wants some accountability, wants this person to come forward and take responsibility.
There is always more than one side to every story and we have only heard one version of things, but if this incident is indeed true and the way Urbanski describes it, it begs the question: is this other person a responsible dog owner? Should he be allowed to even own his dogs?
We know that this is an off-leash trail, but dog owners must be held accountable for their animals. And if their animal is responsible for an attack, how does a person just walk away? How can they not try to help?
District of Sechelt bylaw officer Bruce Haynes is equally disturbed by the attack and is also seeking the public's help with information. Haynes said he believes that this person may be involved in some other incidents along the trails and is hoping the public can help with their investigation.
According to Haynes, this is third time a dog has been killed in an incident on these trails in the past four years. One death is bad enough, but three - come on. We think the District needs to look at the off-leash trails, look at their policies to see if some further regulations and warnings need to be put in place.
And dog owners have to be more responsible and be held accountable.
We have, in the past, received numerous complaints from citizens about dog owners not picking up after their dogs. Not bringing out the pooper-scooper is one thing; allowing your dog to attack another dog is a whole different story.
