Saskatoon woman says owner of dog that killed her poodle is evading consequences

A Saskatoon woman is growing more and more frustrated after a dog that attacked and killed her dog last year has evaded consequences.

Bev Ashwin was in the middle of her usual walk on Oct. 9, 2021 during a warm and sunny day when the unimaginable happened. As she stopped to untangle the leashes of her three dogs, she looked up to see a large pitbull darting in her direction.

"I looked down and the pitbull had picked up Annie and shook her like a stuffed toy and she was dead," Ashwin said. "It was a matter of seconds."

Annie, Ashwin's 12-year-old poodle crossbreed, was what Ashwin called a therapy dog. Annie would come to work with Ashwin each day at Family Pet Cremation Services and console customers grieving the loss of their pets.

Now, Ashwin is the one grieving.

"I do not walk the dogs daily because I just can't. I've never walked down that street again," she said.

"The loss has ruined my life."

Ashwin says she has daily flashbacks of the incident seared into her memory. She soon reported the ordeal to the Saskatoon Animal Control Agency (SACA).

Her problems took a turn for the worse.

After an investigation in conjunction with the city solicitor, the matter proceeded to a dangerous animal hearing before moving to a court hearing where the animal was deemed dangerous by a provincial justice.

In February, the animal was ordered to be destroyed. According to the city's dangerous animals bylaw, an owner has seven days after such an order to file an appeal at the Court of King's Bench.

The pitbull's owner filed an appeal, and now Ashwin is waiting for justice, a new court date or any correspondence telling her the dog hasn't done any other harm more than a year after the attack.

"It makes me sick to my stomach because my Annie is gone," Ashwin said.

In an email statement, the city said it can't comment on the specific case, but said compliance checks are done once a year to see if the order and things like muzzling and displaying signage of a dangerous animal are being followed.

During a standing policy committee on planning, development and community services yesterday, a set of proposed changes to the dangerous animal bylaw were given unanimous support. One of those changes could see owners appeal the dangerous animal designation after two years, as long as steps have been taken to address their animal’s behaviour.

Ashwin wants to know what consequences the owner will face, if any.

"There definitely has to be more justice for it, because although the dog has done the act of killing the pet or maiming a pet -- it's ultimately the owners fault," she said.