Saskatoon judge clears way for death of dog involved in fatal attack
A judge has cleared the way for a dog that fatally attacked another dog in Saskatoon to be killed.
A justice of the peace ordered the destruction of Anita Ahenakew's mixed-breed pitbull after she pleaded guilty under the Dangerous Animals Bylaw.
Ahenakew asked a King's Bench judge to overturn the decision but the appeal was dismissed on Nov. 9.
According to a court document, on Oct. 9, 2021, Ahenakew's dog — Gracie — seized another dog by the throat and shook her. The other dog, named Annie, died from her injuries.
Annie's owner, Bev Ashwin, spoke with CTV News last month
"I looked down and the pitbull had picked up Annie and shook her like a stuffed toy and she was dead," Ashwin said at the time. "It was a matter of seconds."
Ashwin expressed frustration over Ahenakew's appeal, feeling that it was only dragging on the process.
"The loss has ruined my life," Ashwin said, explaining she thinks about her dog's grisly death every day.
Ahenakew's appeal argued the justice of the peace did not adequately consider lesser alternatives to ending Gracie's life, such as a promise to never travel with the dog — instead leaving her at Ahenakew's Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation home.
Ahenakew also said the fact her dog could be muzzled and a chain link fence around her yard could be considered mitigating factors.
Her appeal also argued the justice of the peace should have considered the fact that Gracie had never attacked another dog before as a mitigating factor rather than a sign of potentially erratic behaviour.
The presiding King's Bench justice Grant Currie dismissed Ahenakew's appeal, finding no issues with the original ruling.
"The justice of the peace did consider such less severe options before concluding that destruction was necessary," Currie wrote in his decision.
While Currie's decision leaves Gracie's destruction order in place, he ruled she can not be killed within 30 days of his Nov. 9 decision to allow time in the event Ashwin is able to mount another appeal.
--With files from Keenan Sorokan
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.