Dog owner calls for Richmond to return dangerous pit bull seized without a warrant

The owner of a pitt bull terrier that bit a woman's face while she was at his house is calling for the City of Richmond to return the 15-month-old dog after it was seized without a warrant. 

Richmond RCMP say they responded to a 911 call about the incident from a home on Dennis Crescent near the Steveston Highway shortly before 6:30 p.m. PT on June 5.

Cpl. Dennis Hwang said by the time officers arrived, the woman in her 50s had been taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that required surgery. He said officers could hear the dog "barking boisterously" as well as "wild movements" inside the home.

"The temperament of this dog was, without exaggeration, off the charts" Hwang said. "All of our officers were extremely cautious and the harm potential was exceedingly high. We were prepared for the absolute worst."

Hwang said the pit bull was taken without a warrant because the dog was a threat to a human being. 

The animal control section of the B.C. Community Charter allows bylaw officers to seize dangerous dogs, but it stipulates that officers must have a warrant or the owner's consent if the pet is taken from a private residence. 

'He's like my son'

The dog's owner, Jonas Whelan, wasn't home at the time. He said he begged his mother over the phone to tell the officers to wait until he got there before they took the pit bull, named Hugo, away. 

"My mum was begging them to wait, like, really begging them, you know? She was crying and scared, and I could hear Hugo in the back," Whelan said.

Whelan, 20, said he's devastated police took away the dog he describes as his only friend.

"All my life I kind of grew up without nobody, you know what I mean? I had my mom and I had my sister, but I never had anybody there with me to go through anything," he said.

"And then I got Hugo, and we moved into a new big house for him. He's just become my boy. He's like my son. I can't really describe it in words. … We've created a bond and we're just so close."

Whelan said it's not the first time Hugo has bitten someone. Another time when the dog was with Whelan's mother it bit their landlord on the hand, but police weren't called and the injuries were minimal. 

"I'm aware there's a problem there, I know. But euthanizing Hugo is not the answer. There's rehabilitation. There are camps that I can go to. There's treatment." 

A costly battle

Dangerous dog activist Karen Stiewe, who manages a Facebook page called The Not So "Dangerous" Dogs of British Columbia, said the circumstances around this case are concerning.

Stiewe said it's not the first time she's heard of a dog being taken away from a private residence without a warrant. Most times, she said, dog owners simply don't know their rights. 

She agreed that more can be done than just putting dogs down.

Stiewe said she's heard of many cases where judges have released dogs, albeit with stringent conditions in place. Sometimes, the pet is given to a different owner with better skills to manage high-needs dogs.

But for that outcome to take place, she said, dog owners have to spend tens of thousands of dollars on legal fees and for a dog behaviourist to assess their pet and testify in court — a process many dog owners can't afford. 

Instead, she said, after a dog is apprehended, it's often locked up for months with no socialization or proper exercise while the municipality files an application in court to have it destroyed. 

"You can imagine what impact that would have on a dog's emotional psyche — it's not good," she said.

With files from Anita Bathe