Alanna Kelly

UPDATE: 12:05 p.m.

A man who was confronted over his treatment of a dog during a walk on Paul’s Tomb trail says he was not aggressive to the dog and was doing a trust-building drill.

The man, who asked not to be identified, was visibly upset when he entered the Castanet newsroom. He indicated the dog belongs to his roommates and he was taking care of it.

“She is a puppy, but she needs structure,” he says. “I’ve never hit the dog or been mean to the dog."

A concerned citizen says what she witnessed on Saturday startled her and she decided to call RCMP and BC SPCA.

“The gentleman grabbed (his) puppy by the scruff of its neck, proceeded to pick the dog up above his head and slammed it to the ground,” she said.

But the man says he was doing a drill with the dog to be able to walk her without a leash.

“You make her sit and stay and you walk forward and then you tell her to come to you… building trust, building structure,” he said. “She took off. She was way up in the woods we couldn’t get a hold of her for about 10, 15 minutes.

He says the yelling the two people heard wasn’t aggressive, rather he was yelling for the dog to return.

“I was yelling for the dog to come back. I picked her up by the scruff of the neck and put her over and I pinned her down and I said ‘no’,” he said.

BC SPCA’s senior animal protection officer Kathy Woodward says they did investigate the complaint of a man mistreating a dog on Sunday. This morning she indicated there were no injuries found on the animal, and they have closed the file.

“It was a trust-building exercise and it broke trust and needed to be disciplined,” said the man.

ORIGINAL: 5:00 a.m.

A woman and her friend were walking the Paul’s Tomb trail in Kelowna on Saturday when they were startled by a man yelling.

As they got closer, the women couldn’t believe what they witnessed.

“I didn’t know whether to cry or throw up… I’ve never seen anything like that before,” said the woman, who asked not to be named over concern for her safety.

“The gentleman grabbed (his) puppy by the scruff of its neck, proceeded to pick the dog up above his head and slammed it to the ground,” she said.

She watched as the man put “his knee on the dog's chest so it couldn’t get up, and he put the leash on the dog.”

The women confronted the man and questioned his behaviour.

“He originally tried to deny it, and as we got closer he said the dog was not listening and that was his way of getting the dog to listen,” she said.

The BC SPCA confirms it is aware of the report made by the woman, but cannot comment as it is under investigation.

“I didn’t even know if the dog would even be able to walk after,” she said. “It was definitely scared of this person.”

The puppy is described as possibly being a blue-nose pit bull breed, with light grey fur and white spots.

Anyone who thinks they witnessed the incident or abuse to the puppy is asked to call the SPCA at 1-855-622-7722.

“Owning a pet is a responsibility and it’s a choice. He doesn’t have to own that dog,” the woman said. “If you are not going to treat it the way it deserves, you shouldn’t own it.”