Demand Espanola, Ontario Police Department Act To Remove Dog From Abusive Home.

The following contains portions of an article written by Jim Moodie and published in The Sudbury Star:

A dog seized before Christmas by Espanola police officers has been returned, at least for the time being, to the very person officers charged with its abuse. The accused pet owner is to appear in court on March 15, and could face a ban on animal ownership if convicted.

In the meantime, police say they had no choice but to place the dog back with its alleged abuser, as the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals wasn't prepared to step in, and police aren't equipped to lodge a dog for more than a few days.

Liability issues, meanwhile, prevent them from farming the animal out to a volunteer fosterer or animal rescue group, according to police chief Steve Edwards.

"This is before the courts and being a seized dog, certainly all liability would rest on the agency that took that dog into care," said Edwards.

In this case, that was the Espanola Police Service.

Apart from being on the hook for veterinary and shelter costs, Edwards said the service would shoulder responsibility in the event of any safety or security issue.

"To hand the dog over to somebody, we don't know if the dog is going to be friendly or not friendly, or if the person is going to take care of it properly," he said. "What if it gets loose and runs away and gets hit by a car, or the owner finds out where it is and tries to take it back and problems arise? There are liability issues from many angles."

Eight tenants in the building told police they'd witnessed a male neighbour "punching, kicking and whipping his dog with its leash, moments before calling," according to a release.

It wasn't the first time they'd witnessed or overheard him berating and beating the animal. "When this occurred, the dog could be heard whimpering and howling," police related.

The tenants were concerned that "if something wasn't done quickly, the male was going to kill the dog," the release states.

After being confronted by fellow tenants, the man left the building with his dog, but officers were able to quickly locate the pair on nearby Mead Street. The man, 28, was charged with causing unnecessary suffering to an animal, while the dog, a young Anatolian shepherd, was seized by police.

Officers were also aware of an earlier complaint of pet abuse involving the same man that had been referred to animal welfare investigators.

In the meantime, the dog was lodged in a cell at the police station.

He said the assumption was the SPCA "would gladly take the dog and care for it during the period prior to any court disposition, but they decided they wouldn't do that."

The SPCA was contacted Monday to explain their position, but a response wasn't available by press time.

Edwards said part of the hitch in gaining SPCA support is that police acted first to remove the animal from its situation. "It was out of the ordinary, in this case, because it's not typical for a police agency to seize the animal and then call the SPCA," he said.

While Edwards isn't pleased about sending the dog back to its owner -- he's a dog lover himself, and previously bred shepherds and worked as a K9 handler -- he assured police will be keeping an eye on the situation.

"We're not turning our back on it," he stressed. "Espanola is a small community and we hear a lot, so we can certainly monitor this and if we hear of anything further happening, we would become involved then or may call the SPCA immediately."

Despite the serious charge laid against the owner, the dog "was not injured," noted the police chief. "He was healthy, happy."

"When you have a situation where the officers on the scene believed it was best to take the dog, and it ends up there's no place to put the dog afterwards and you have to return it, that's disheartening for a lot of us," said Edwards.

Please sign and share this petition to have this dog removed immediately from his abuser and placed in a safe environment, free from harm with a rescue group or foster home.