Calls are growing for stronger animal ownership laws in Nova Scotia following the death of a 13-year-old boy who was attacked by three dogs while riding his bike.
Drew Nickerson died in hospital after he was mauled by three dogs in the community of Welshtown, N.S., in Shelburne County on Jan. 3.
RCMP said the dogs were euthanized by a veterinarian the day after the attack, and testing is underway for rabies and other factors.
“Those dogs should not (have been) allowed to run loose,” said Trish Harris, a family friend.
Harris is calling for stricter rules around large-breed dog ownership. RCMP have said that the three dogs that attacked Drew were two Cane Corsos and a Rottweiler.
“Call it Drew’s Law, that anybody who has dogs that are known or are bred with their issues, that they have to be locked up, 100 per cent of the time, unless there is an adult with them,” she said.
RCMP say they’re reviewing surveillance footage and interviewing neighbours about the dogs’ movements.
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In an interview Wednesday, Staff Sgt. Mark Macpherson, the detachment commander for Shelburne District RCMP, said video footage obtained so far has shown that the dogs “got off the property” while the boy was riding his bicycle on the street.
“The important thing here is we just want to find out what happened, and we’re not looking to charge or not charge per se,” said Macpherson.
“I have to say that throughout these last few days, the dog owners have been cooperating with our investigative efforts.”
According to Municipality of the District of Shelburne’s bylaws, all dogs must be kept on a leash when leaving an owner’s property.
Dalhousie University law professor Wayne MacKay says the legality around cases like these can be complicated.
“It depends heavily on the facts, but one thing is quite clear, and that is that the dog owners do have a responsibility for others to protect them from any harm that may come,” he said.
As far as possible charges go, MacKay says it comes down to negligence, such as proving if the dogs weren’t trained properly.
“If there’s a case where the courts think that they didn’t follow the proper standards of care, and obviously the damage is as big as it gets — the death of a child — then they can do something about it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Nova Scotia-based certified professional dog trainer, Barb Deg, says there are many factors that could have led to the attack but stresses there are proactive steps that all dog owners can take.
“Fences keep everybody safe. They keep our dogs safe, they keep the community safe,” said Deg.
“The other thing that we talk about is having management where we have the caregivers actually monitoring the animals, you know, their movements (…) Any dog can bite. Any dog can make poor decisions, so we proactively manage it and that’s things like fences and leashes and having eyes on the animals.”
No charges have been laid and RCMP say their investigation is ongoing.
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Calls grow for stronger animal ownership laws in N.S. after deadly dog attack
