Dear editor,
I must start this letter by telling you how excited I was to have the opportunity to move back to the beautiful Comox Valley this year.
I am not so sure how excited I am now after hearing about how the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD is dealing with the case of Chum and Champ. I am absolutely appalled and disgusted with the way the CVRD has dealt with this.
From all the interviews, so called “evidence,” and all the other information that has been collected, I cannot believe that the CVRD seized Chum and Champ to begin with.
To seize these animals over the word of a neighbor, who didn’t even witness how her animal was injured in the first place, is appalling! What ever happened to investigating both sides of a situation without any bias before assumptions are made?
I believe that this situation was handled very poorly to begin with. To think that someone can just come and seize my dog anytime over something they assume happened, makes me sick!
I believe the evidence that has been brought forward should have been thrown out of court right away! If anyone finds an injured animal on their property, how are we as residents of the Comox Valley going to react to this in the future?
Not to mention if we find an injured human being! Are we all going to become bystanders and pretend we didn’t see anything, out of fear that we/our pets will be blamed for this?
I believe nobody witnessed how the Jack Russell was injured. I also believe that this isn’t about the dogs, it is about the humans. Word has it that the neighbors have had issues for many years.
In my opinion the fact that a previous tenant was knocked over by one of the Newfoundland dogs and continued to live there afterwards is not evidence at all. Anyone with a large breed dog knows how easy it is to get knocked over by a large dog. People with little dogs know that they propose a tripping hazard.
What is this world coming to?
As for some Newfoundland puppies being found on another neighbor’s property, these types of things happen to the best of us when a gate is accidentally left open, or when little dogs dig underneath a fence. We are supposed to be a community, and neighbors should be there for one another!
Chum and Champ passed their behavior assessments with flying colors. Where is the Jack Russell’s behavior assessment?
I firmly believe that Chum and Champ are not in anyway a danger or a threat to humans or animals, and that public safety is not a concern in this situation! I realize that Chum and Champ’s fate is now in the judge’s hands.
I can only hope that he will make the right decision, sending Chum and Champ home. I hope that the CVRD can learn from this situation and better educate themselves on how to deal with these types of situations appropriately in the future. The public elects the CVRD and I’d like to think that the public will be able to trust the CVRD in the future.
Angela Taylor,
Comox Valley