A summer afternoon incident at a bustling Vancouver park has culminated in the euthanasia of Punky, a four-year-old Australian cattle dog, following a prolonged legal battle.
The Incident
In August 2017, Susan Santics was playing fetch with Punky at Locarno Park in Vancouver. After her last throw of the day, Santics noticed Punky was distracted and approached a woman resting on a towel near a tree.
Punky bit the woman below the knee, resulting in “multiple puncture wounds, including a deep puncture to her right leg and punctures to her right hand, as well as scrapes, swelling and bruising,” as described in court.
Legal Proceedings
Vancouver Animal Control seized Punky on September 13, 2017. Court documents detailed the dog’s aggressive behavior when approached by an officer:
“The officer testified that she found Punky in the yard, unmuzzled and lunging at her. She attempted for about an hour to restrain Punky for transportation in her vehicle, but was unsuccessful.”
In July 2018, Punky was deemed dangerous and ordered to be destroyed by a B.C. Provincial Court judge. The case was later heard by the B.C. Court of Appeal in December 2018.
Efforts to Save Punky
Victoria Shroff, an animal law lawyer and Adjunct Professor at UBC Allard School of Law, became involved, advocating for Punky’s life:
“Killing a dog should not be the first avenue we go down. It should be more about how can we do things to keep the public safe,” she stated hours before Punky’s scheduled euthanization. “These things are really solvable with a muzzle order. There are easy solutions.”
Santics echoed this sentiment:
“This could have all been solved with them giving him back to me with strict conditions. I did get a muzzle on him at some point.”
Despite these efforts, the high court unanimously upheld the ruling to destroy Punky. Justice Patrice Abrioux stated:
“In my view, given Punky’s past behaviour, temperament and lack of rehabilitation prospects, it was clearly open to the Provincial Court judge to conclude that the dog posed an unacceptable risk to the public and ought to be destroyed.”
Shroff contended there were alternative options:
“There were so many other prospects for him. It’s different in a situation where nothing can be done, but we literally had people from all over the world saying, ‘I will take him, I will rehabilitate him, I will pay for him.’”
Implications for Dog Owners
Some view Punky’s case as a warning for owners of aggressive dogs seized by animal control. However, Shroff clarified that releasing a dog with conditions remains a viable option:
“In my 20 years as an animal law lawyer, I have never had a dog reoffend. So the system is working. There are ways to have a dog released on a safety release plan.”
Final Moments
A final attempt to save Punky was thwarted when the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed an appeal. On Thursday afternoon, Punky was euthanized at a Vancouver Animal Control facility. Santics was denied access to be present or say goodbye to her dog:
“They didn’t let me go in and hug him. It would have been pretty overwhelming, but they should have let me do that.”