Re: “Dog shooting under probe”
I read this article with a combination of amazement, derision and disgust. Amazement that there could be so much difference between the law as it applies in Australia, New Zealand and Canada; derision because in the first two countries Mr. Pronk would have been thanked by the community at large for getting rid of a sheep worrying menace, while here in Canada he is cursed, hated and pilloried as a dog killer, and that leaves me disgusted.
Dog owners in general leave much to be desired, and their “walks” tend to be toilet runs, as I’ve noticed here at Arbutus Ridge — they never “dump” or pee on their owners’ land, always on someone else’s.
And while we don’t here have the problem of dogs running free, outside of this gated community it is common; and dogs running free very often form packs (just like teenagers).
Before we retired and came here my wife and I lived in Bragg Creek, Alberta.
Many Calgarians moved to the country, and the first thing they did was acquire a dog; the second thing they did was to let the dog run free, and so we had a huge pack of dogs of all sizes and breeds running free — never mind the sheep they slaughtered just for fun, they even killed horses!
With some like-minded people I went to the RCMP in Cochrane where we were told to our amazement: “You guys live on acreages, got rifles? Shoot them!” We did, and were thanked!
What a difference here in the Cowichan, FGS, what was Mr. Pronk supposed to do? “Go away, you naughty doggie!”
RCMP should reprimand the dog’s owner, and the SPCA should have put the dog down as a sheep worrier!
Peter Bell
Cobble Hill