REGINA — The Regina Humane Society is seeing red after a video taken over the weekend showed someone walking a dog while driving beside it in a van.
“It’s incredibly dangerous,” said Don Simons of the Humane Society.
The video was captured by Andrew Matte on Sunday night near Douglas Park and is making the rounds on social media. In the video a van is seen with its hazards on while a dog walks beside it to keep up. It is dusk and cars are driving by.
dog-walker-man from Andrew Matte on Vimeo.
“(If) it sees a squirrel, it sees a rabbit, it wants to swerve around a rock or a pothole, then it can very easily get caught up under the wheel,” Simons explained.
Simons says if someone is physically unable to walk their dog, many other options are available.
“There are dog parks in town where you can maybe take your dog if that’s a problem,” he said. “Of course, there are family and friends. There are dog walkers.”
Lisa Adamko understands why someone would let a dog run beside the car. She says her family used to take their dog for walks in quiet rural areas.
“He loved to chase the truck,” she explained. “But if we were by a dog park we probably wouldn’t have done it so often because it is dangerous out on the street.”
Simons says it is dangerous whether in the country or in the city. The Regina Humane Society said it will consider pursuing charges if any dog is killed or injured while being walked by someone driving a vehicle.
Regina police say it is not just dangerous for the animal, but for drivers around them.
“There might be evidence under the Traffic Safety Act of either obstructing traffic, or perhaps driving without undue care or attention,” said police spokesperson Elizabeth Popowich.
In this case, police were called and the driver told officers he was walking the dog for a friend. He agreed to never walk an animal in that manner again.
With files from Andrew Matte of QC Magazine
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