A Special Place In Hell

[Canarr]

Dear RCMP:
While I understand that you are not in the business of picking up lost pets, wisely leaving that to the professionals at Animal Control, I do believe you guys arrest people for animal cruelty, yes?
Did the caller happen to give their name?

I think that they, above everyone else, would undserstand if you were to pick them up and confine them in a small space for a while "while you checked things out". You wouldn't want them "wandering around" while you investigate to see if they've actually broken any laws. It should all be sorted out by Monday morning.

I don't think so, no. Arresting someone without just cause? For tying a dog to a post? The police normally isn't so hot on exposing themselves to possible litigation. And claiming that the people involved might flee the area to avoid legal recourse for their crime is a bit farfetched.

I understand that this is not an easy story for someone who loves animals, but let's be reasonable here.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I have to say, I was never bothered by the idea of tying dogs to parking meters, trees, etc., particularly while the owner runs into a store, .

In theory I don't have a problem with this, either. But someone tied their dog to a post outside Store2 once and the dog was barking at everyone that walked by. (He was a medium-sized dog, don't know what breed.) He was in the middle of the sidewalk and people trying to get by had to step out into the roadway. I doubt he would have bitten anyone but he was disturbing people, blocking pedestrian traffic, and potentially frightening small children and anyone who might be afraid of dogs. Not to mention the fact that anyone could have untied him and walked off and no one would have known the difference. It's not like locking your bike to a signpost. I would never leave my pet unattended outside a store like that. (Heck, I have a hard enough time letting Pablo out in my backyard; usually I stay out there with him, or at least watch out the window. Then again, my biggest worry there is the stray cats or other animals that might get into the yard.)

[Igorina]

1) Report the dog to the local shelter/animal welfare/SPCA who can check the collar and return it to the owner.
2) Pick the dog up, check the collar and return it to the owner.
3) Pick the dog up and drop it at the local shelter or SPCA where they can check the collar or ID chip and return it to its owner.

Option 4) Keep collar and tags on dog, take home and try to pass off as your own.

Had that happen to my family. All it took when we saw her being walked by strangers was one whistle and she damn near dragged the would-be thieves into the road by their arm.

[tollbaby]

Dear RCMP:
While I understand that you are not in the business of picking up lost pets, wisely leaving that to the professionals at Animal Control, I do believe you guys arrest people for animal cruelty, yes?
Did the caller happen to give their name?

The thing is, the RCMP is federal... cruelty to animals is municipal, so it would have had to be the local police... and even they would only have investigated the call, not picked up the dog.

[Broomjockey]

The thing is, the RCMP is federal... cruelty to animals is municipal, so it would have had to be the local police... and even they would only have investigated the call, not picked up the dog.

Yes picking up dog, but you forget that in a lot of places, the RCMP is the local police. Granted, Vancouver probably has a seperate police force, but possibly the RCMP is the police for some of the suburbs.

[Gravekeeper]

Yes picking up dog, but you forget that in a lot of places, the RCMP is the local police. Granted, Vancouver probably has a seperate police force, but possibly the RCMP is the police for some of the suburbs.

Vancouver has both municipal ( Vancouver PD ) and federal ( RCMP ). There's also separate animal welfare officers on a municipal level ( Whom I was in charge of getting a hold of. ).

Animals isn't something the RCMP deals with. However, it doesn't mean they won't. They DID want to go get this dog but it was 3am on a weekend so there's a lot more important calls backlogged they needed to respond too. Which is why they were calling moi.

[Horsetuna]

I'm an animal lover, but I dont see this as cruelty either. If it was warm enough this couple was out for a walk (and it being April, it may be a bit balmy depending on where it happened), then the dog couldnt have been suffering. not HAPPY mind you, but not suffering either. I think we're overreacting.

[Gravekeeper]

I'm an animal lover, but I dont see this as cruelty either. If it was warm enough this couple was out for a walk (and it being April, it may be a bit balmy depending on where it happened), then the dog couldnt have been suffering. not HAPPY mind you, but not suffering either. I think we're overreacting.

ehhh....not to add fuel to the fire but this was in North Vancouver so it was 2c degrees tops at that time of night. They're still getting snow off and on out there.

[SpyOne]

I don't think so, no. Arresting someone without just cause? For tying a dog to a post? The police normally isn't so hot on exposing themselves to possible litigation. And claiming that the people involved might flee the area to avoid legal recourse for their crime is a bit farfetched.

I understand that this is not an easy story for someone who loves animals, but let's be reasonable here.

Okay, I had meant that part of my post to be somewhat sacastic.
I mean, if anybody should forgive confining someone thoughtlessly, it would be these folks, right?

The part I'm serious about is that they ought to get a good scare put into them, and the police are just the people to do it.
Tying a dog up to a pole is not inherently cruel. However, tying an animal up outdoors where it cannot seek shelter is cruel when the temperature drops low enough. I don't think this would be a case where the police were wasting their time: this appears to be right near the line, it might have been cruelty or it might have been not, and investigating whether it rises to the level of lawbreaking is what the police do.

I agree they were being stupid and not consciously cruel. Still, being stupid is not exactly a defense. While it is true the charge is less if you didn't actually mean for what happened to happen, that doesn't change the fact that you broke the law. In this case, if what they did rises to the level of cruelty (it was very cold that night, perhaps), then the fact that they weren't trying to be mean to the dog does not change the fact that, once they tied it up, they became legally responsible for its wellbeing, and did not take adequate measures to ensure same.


My father grew up on a farm. He raised rabbits for food. He ate things he had given a name. He also cares more about animals than 90% of the people I know, and gives money to shelters that don't euthanize pets, even if they are halfway across the country.
While I believe he would feel that people who treat their pets like children are crazy, he would never leave an animal without shelter in below-freezing weather.
It doesn't matter if it's your pet (whose "job" is to be your friend) or something you are planning to eat, it will get sick if you leave it out in the cold. It doesn't need much shelter, and if it isn't confined it can probably find something suitable by itself, but it needs to find shelter.
(I don't know how cold it was that night but ... Vancouver at the beginning of April, I'm betting it was cold. Heck, it gets down below 40 overnight here, and Virginia Beach is practiacally tropical.)

Really, I just think that a police officer should talk to those people, explain to them that it was too cold to leave a dog tied up outside that night, and that if the dog got sick they'd be financially responsible which is better than the criminal charges they might be facing.
Just something to hammer home the "think before you act" lesson that they seem to have missed.

[Andara Bledin]

I'm not sure how cold it was on the night in question, but it is currently, right this second, 43 °F (6 °C) in Vancouver, with 76% humidity.

But the call in question came in in the middle of the night. The forcast for tonight (and the rest of the week) is for it to drop down to 10 °F (-3 °C). That's well below freezing and long past the point where any diurnal animal is going to be seeking shelter.

^-.-^