The fate of a dog accused of a series of attacks - one of them deadly - hangs in the balance as a trial began Monday on whether its alleged actions warrant euthanasia.
On Aug. 1, 2016 Kilo, a Doberman-Healer cross owned by Bryna Wiley, burst out of his 1200-block Cuddie Crescent home and charged at Shag, a toy poodle who had been living across the street, provincial court heard Monday during the opening day of a trial.
With his mouth, he grabbed the significantly-smaller dog by its rear, shook him, dropped him, then picked him up again and shook him again before a man living in the home raced out, pounced on Kilo and forced him to release the poodle.
But it was too late. Shag had suffered a broken back and within the hour of the incident was put down at a veterinarian's office, his owner, Liza Perreault testified.
She said Shag weighed just 15 pounds but conceded he had a small-dog's complex and would bark at other dogs. He had ventured across the street to check out another dog about his size.
After the two exchanged barks, Perrault said she called Shag back and he had turned around and was heading towards her when the attack occurred.
A few days later, Perrault found a note on the windshield of her car that started with a comment that "ratz" deserve to die. The note was unsigned and it was not certain who it came from, Perrault agreed.
Wiley, meanwhile, had agreed to turn Kilo over to the city's animal control department and then launched the court action to prevent him being euthanized.
It was not the first time Wiley and Kilo had crossed paths with animal control, the court heard.
In August 2014, officers asked Wiley's son to take greater steps to secure the dog after he jumped out of a pen and rammed a passing car.
A year later, he bit the hand of a man walking another dog along the 2500 block of Oak Street. It's not clear if the man was bit because he had reached in to break up a confrontation between the two dogs or because he was trying to break the legs of Kilo.
Wiley turned Kilo over to animal control. He was later released back into Wiley's care with an officer insisting he be muzzled and leashed while outside.
Then, on May 31, 2016, three months before the attack on Shag, he went after Remix, a mid-sized Lab-Healer cross who had been let off her leash for the last block of a walk towards her 1100-block Cuddie Crescent home.
Owner Chantelle Wentland, testified her dog went into "play pose" as Kilo's approached her but he had no interest in play. Instead, he began biting her before a man grabbed Shag by the scruff and harness and pulled him off with a struggle. Remix escaped without serious injury.
Evidence was entered suggesting Kilo's had broken free because a clasp on the chain used to keep him on his home property had broken.
Wentland, who once worked at a pet shop and has owned several dogs over the years, said Kilo showed a very high level of aggression and appeared to have gone "prey drive."
As for the attack on Shag, the court heard Wiley's mother took the blame, telling an animal control officer she had mistakenly left the home's door open allowing him to escape.
Provincial court judge Cassandra Malfair must decide whether Kilo is a dangerous dog and, if so, whether he be put down or allowed his return to Wiley with conditions.
The trial will continue on another date.
