A Rocky View County dog owner is facing a $1,500 fine after photos were posted online of a dog being towed on an open flatbed trailer in Calgary.
The owner claimed the dog had been sprayed by a skunk and that he was taking the animal to a car wash.
Global News has confirmed Volodymyr Irodenko pleaded guilty to a municipal bylaw that prohibits dogs from being “outside of a passenger cab of a motor vehicle on a roadway.”
The court heard the man was driving on Calgary’s Stoney Trail at about 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 27, 2017, with the dog tethered to the flatbed.
The man turned himself into the Calgary Humane Society after other drivers reported seeing the animal tied to the trailer.
An image of the dog posted to Facebook on Oct. 28 was shared over 14,000 times.
Fortunately, the dog was not injured. However, the court heard the man demonstrated a serious lapse in judgment and that he put the dog and other drivers at risk.
The court also heard the dog could have been seriously injured or killed if it lost balance or fell off the trailer.