Owners seek to transfer ownership of dangerous dogs to avoid destruction – Kamloops News

On By Pranco

Three dogs found meth and cocaine in their systems after a fatal attack on a pet in a North Kamloops backyard, there will be another day.

Monday was set as the date for a judge to determine whether the dogs, considered dangerous by the city of Kamloops, should be killed.

But that didn’t happen. Instead, lawyers argued over who should be present at the hearing — an issue complicated by the involvement of a so-called “dog whisperer” on Vancouver Island who thinks he could rehabilitate the convicted canines.

As it stands, there are three parties involved in the case: the city of Kamloops and two women, Lyndsay Erwin and Ashley Ellanor.

On Monday, attorney Dan McNamee tried to add a third name, Ken Griffiths, to that list. Griffiths calls himself the ‘Comox Valley Dog Whisperer’, and McNamee told the court he has a history of taking in and rehabilitating dangerous dogs.

Attempts to transfer ownership

According to police, a Richmond Avenue family’s 12-year-old collie was killed in their home yard on the morning of September 8 after three neighborhood dogs jumped over a fence and attacked.

The city of Kamloops seized the dogs, labeled them dangerous and filed a motion to have them quashed in court. Tests after the incident showed meth and cocaine in the dogs’ systems.

The dogs are named Bella, Snoop and Ferb. At the time of their seizure, Erwin owned Bella and Snoop, while Ferb was owned by Ellanor.

On November 18, Erwin sent an email to Griffiths attempting to transfer ownership of the dogs to him. Ellanor sent a similar message a few days earlier, saying she would give Ferb to Griffiths if it turned out he was involved in the Richmond Avenue attack.

McNamee argued Monday that Griffiths should be a party to the case and was considered the owner of Bella and Snoop — and possibly Ferb as well.

Griffiths testified briefly via video from his home in Comox. He said he has never met Erwin or Ellanor, nor any of the dogs.

Griffiths was put in touch with the women by a third party, who was described in court as a ‘Good Samaritan’.

‘Perpetuates the risk’

The city of Kamloops wants the court to ignore recent attempts to pass the dogs to Griffiths, accusing Erwin and Ellanor of playing a “shell game.”

“The city says this is a mischaracterization to suggest that these dogs be donated to Mr. Griffiths. Frankly, the idea of ​​donating adult dogs in general is a mischaracterization,” said Chelsea Mack, the city’s attorney in the case.

“That’s what we usually call an adoption of a dog. To me, it’s the gift of a dog when parents bring home a puppy for excited young children.”

Mack said Griffiths should not be considered the true owner of the animals.

“Sir. Griffiths has never met these dogs, he has not bothered to travel to Kamloops for this hearing involving his alleged dogs and he takes no responsibility for arranging the dogs’ transportation back to the island if they are released, she said.

“From a public safety perspective, respondents suggest that dog owners could simply donate dangerous or aggressive dogs to new owners to avoid the consequences of a destruction request. It essentially creates a shell game of moving dangerous dogs into new jurisdictions and, in my opinion, perpetuates the risk of future attacks.”

Kamloops provincial court Judge Roy Dickey said he needs some time to consider whether Griffiths should be a party to the proceedings.

Lawyers will return to court on Thursday to set a date for his decision on the matter, after which a day is expected to be set aside for arguments over the dogs’ fate.

Bella, Snoop and Ferb remain in the custody of the City of Kamloops pending the outcome of the court case.