Husky to be put down
Chinook the Siberian husky will be voluntarily put down, say his owners.
Bert and Anja Weiner said they are “devastated and deeply regret” their dog’s attack upon two young children who were playing at a snow hill at a park on Allen Street at about 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 30.
They assume all responsibility for the tragedy and will have Chinook euthanized, even though it’s not easy for them.
They adopted four-year-old Chinook from a Red Deer pet store about 18 months ago and were assured he was good with kids, and had lived with two children, age nine and 11.
“I do not know what happened that evening, but it was not because he showed any vicious aggression to us or any of our friends,” Bert Weiner said on Monday.
“He actually was very skittish which made us believe he was abused. Any loud noises and he would disappear. He would hide under the table.”
Weiner wondered if the children he lived with before were the abusers and led him to attack the children on Dec. 30, who were roughly the same age.
Drayden Ballantyne, eight, was bitten about 10 times after he came to his rescue of his sister Sara, 10.
Chinook escaped from his nearby yard and came running at them while they were alone at the park. Sara held out her palm for the dog to sniff her hand and he tried to bite her hand. Then her brother started throwing snowballs at the dog, and he was attacked.
Sara was unharmed. But Drayden received seven stitches on his left temple, near his ear where a dog bite ripped open his skin.
His upper left arm has two big teeth punctures wounds. Bruises and puncture marks cover the young boy’s arms, legs, back, buttocks and ribs.
Weiner, who used to train German shepherds, said since he will never really know why Chinook reacted the way he did, there’s no guarantee it won’t happen again.
Both what happened to the children, and Chinook’s probable abuse, are regrettable, he said.
“It’s not the animal that has aggression in them at birth. It’s the human being that puts it in them.”
Chinook was his family’s third Siberian husky.
Their first husky instantly bonded with their first son home when they brought him home from the hospital.
“He would sleep underneath the crib. If the baby woke up, it would come to us and wake us up. They are so protective. They are very smart.”
Chinook got along with their 12-year-old husky, and even with their seven birds.
The Weiners gave him love and care and he grew to trust them.
Chinook did not interact with young children at his new home. He was excited when he saw them during walks at Three Mile Bend, but Weiner never suspected it was out of aggression.
But Chinook did like to run.
After he escaped from their fenced yard a couple of times, they used an electric shock collar to contain him. The day of the attack, he somehow managed to run away again.
Although the batteries in the collar were checked regularly, the cold temperature may have affected them, Weiner said.
The Weiners were actually out looking for Chinook at the time of the attack. Because he ran so fast they needed a truck to help track him down.
Weiner said he just can’t bear to visit Chinook at Riverside Kennels where he’s under quarantine for 10 days.
“He’s part of my family.”
Under the city’s Dog Bylaw, charges issued against Weiner include one count of a dog running at large, which carries a $200 fine, and two counts of dog attacks or bites a person, which is a $200 to $2,000 fine per charge.
In 2008, about 50 minor to major dog bites were reported in Red Deer. Six dogs were voluntarily surrendered to be euthanized after major incidents.
Duane Thomas, enforcement director with Alberta Animal Services, said in most cases if euthanization is required, the owners are responsible and surrender the dog without getting a court order under the Dangerous Dog Act.
Animal control officers only dealt with Chinook once before the attack. Last February he was found wandering at large.
Both last week and in February, Chinook showed no aggression towards officers, Thomas said.
It’s hard to know exactly why Chinook attacked, but his previous owners may have something to do with it, he said.
“That could have played a role into it, in terms of not being good around children.”
When people adopt older dogs and suspect behaviour problems, Thomas suggests they enrol their dogs in obedience training.
“The person running the program can assess the dog at that point. They can right away find out the things the animal is not comfortable being around. It will give you an idea what type of steps you need to take as a dog owner around your house when people come over. Then they can work on those things.”
If problems are caught early and dogs are young, they can be trained to be more obedient and tolerant. But an older dog is definitely harder to train, Thomas said.
Contact Susan Zielinski at szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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