Problem poodle sent back to Kelowna court after another incident

The home of a Kelowna poodle with a checkered past will now post a dangerous dog warning.

Charlie, a standard poodle, was the subject of a brief trial that ended in Kelowna Law Courts on Tuesday.

The trial was related to a 2021 incident where Charlie managed to injure a small dog who neared his fence, as well as the other dog’s owner when they tried to extricate their pet from the melee.

Central Okanagan Regional District’s chief bylaw enforcement officer, Dan Maja, said a judge found Charlie’s owner, Ian Sisett, guilty of five bylaw infractions and issued some penalties.

He’s also going to have to follow orders that were made earlier.

Charlie will now wear a dangerous dog licence, will be kept in a locked enclosure, will have a sign warning others of his presence nearby and will be microchipped.

The judge dismissed the assertion that Charlie is a nuisance dog.

Maja explained that almost all of the aforementioned things were already an expectation after a ruling on a 2020 incident where Charlie’s behaviour was also found to be problematic and he was declared a dangerous dog.

In that case, Sisett was on Okanagan College grounds on Jan. 29, 2020, when he let Charlie and his two other poodles loose on the field.

He had done so many times before with permission and without incident, according to a decision by the B.C. Supreme Court, which set aside the fine.

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That time, however, the dogs ran after a small dog named Spike that was being walked on a leash along a sidewalk adjacent to the field.

“Charlie grabbed Spike by the head and shook him, causing significant injuries including a fractured jaw that needed to be wired shut until it healed,” B.C. Supreme Court Justice Gary Weatherill wrote in a decision posted online this week.

Spike then required two surgeries to his jaw to ensure healing and he now has a permanently twisted jaw, restricting him to eating softened foods only. The vet bill was substantial, Charlie was deemed dangerous and Sisset tried to argue against the ruling.

In the end, he was only successful in arguing that his actions didn’t lead to the dog being a danger.

While there are always dog issues, Maja said that Kelowna is becoming an increasingly dog-friendly place, with most pooches and their owners being respectful of the rules and regulations in place.

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“Twenty years ago, there were very few places you could take your dog. Then a dog advisory group and user groups changed that and things have improved a lot,” he said. “Even the city allowing dogs on paths and walkways has been huge. I think this is a dog-friendly town and people are learning to be more responsible.”

But, he said, everybody knows somebody that has been attacked or a person who has been bitten.

His biggest recommendation is that people keep their dogs licenced, leashed and properly controlled.

“Public safety should be first and foremost,” he said, adding that people with dogs of all sizes bear that responsibility.