KELOWNA — Andrew Panton considers his two pets as family, saying he’s devastated by a provincial court judge’s decision to put one of his dogs down.
READ MORE: Judge declares two Peachland dogs dangerous, one to be euthanized
Panton defends his beloved pets, a presa canario named Jake and a pit bull named Buddy, saying he’s never had any issues in the past.
“They’ve been absolutely no problem whatsoever. I’ve had zero incidents of aggressive behaviour of these dogs,” says Panton.
But on New Year’s day, there was a problem. Both dogs escaped Panton’s home when a guest left a door opened.
The dogs eventually encountered Peachland resident Jeff Clarke and his 12-year-old dog Charley, who were out for a walk in their neighbourhood.
Jake and Buddy attacked the smaller dog and despite Clarke’s best efforts to protect his pet, Charley was left with puncture wounds to his lungs and bites to his face and neck.
Given Charley’s age and expected long recovery, he was put down.
Clarke says the judge’s decision is providing him some closure.
“Nothing is going to bring Charley back. I don’t want to see any dogs euthanize or what have you. But I think these two dogs should be because of what I saw and what I heard in witness testimonies in court. I just disagree with the final decision,” says Clarke.
Judge Anne Wallace has ruled that Jake will be euthanized and Buddy be returned to Panton with conditions.
The Regional District of Central Okanagan has filed a requisition, stopping the pit bull’s release.
It is seeking clarifications on the judge’s conditions because some of them don’t follow or contradict its dog control bylaw.
Panton doesn’t want just one of his pets back, he wants both.
“What Jake did was wrong. I don’t know what caused him to make a bite like that. I don’t know what I’m going to do without him,” says a teary Panton.
So he’s considering going through the court system again, this time to the court of appeal.
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