“Now, as soon as the dog is considered ‘dangerous’ in trial, there will be no choice but to have the dog killed.”

Victoria Shroff acted in the appeal for the dog’s owner, Susan Santics, and says the ruling “may well have ushered in a new era of how dangerous dogs will be treated in B.C. courts.”

A key question in Santics v. Vancouver (City) Animal Control Officer, 2019 BCCA 294, was whether the court had jurisdiction to make conditional orders – short of killing the dog – when an animal control officer has labelled the dog “dangerous.” Prior to the decision in Santics, courts have interpreted the provincial legislation as allowing for dangerous dogs to be released back to their owners with certain restrictions.

The appeal is the first time dangerous-dog provisions in the Vancouver Charter and Community Charter have been addressed at the appellate level, states the Aug. 9 decision by B.C. Court of Appeal Justices Patrice Abrioux, Mary Newbury and Richard Goepel.

“It is the first time that the Court of Appeal has dealt with substantive legal issues dealing with ‘dangerous dogs’ under a provincial legislation in British Columbia,” says Breder.