WHISTLER, B.C.—About 100 sled dogs, some badly maimed and writhing in pain, were killed and dumped in a mass grave after bookings apparently collapsed for a B.C. tour operator following the 2010 Winter Games.

The gruesome event is detailed in documents awarding compensation to a worker who claimed post-traumatic stress disorder after having to shoot the dogs.

The B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has opened a cruelty investigation and the RCMP is looking into the incident.

Dog-sled tour operators throughout British Columbia and animal-welfare workers were horrified at the story. At the centre of it appears to be a man suffering mental trauma.

The documents from WorkSafeBC, the provincial agency that handles workers’ compensation claims, were obtained by Vancouver radio station CKNW.

The name of the man who killed the dogs has not been released, but his lawyer, Cory Steinberg, told CKNW that it was “the worst experience (the man) could ever have imagined.”

“He was essentially told to figure out a way to make (the business) more cost effective. They just had to have less dogs. So he did everything he could finding homes for them, having them adopted, every which way that he could.”

Steinberg declined further comment Monday.

An online site offering support to those suffering post-traumatic disorder includes postings made under the name of Bob Fawcett, the same name as the man who bought the dog sled company in 2004.

“I’ve had a pretty horrible ordeal and actually figure I may be able to be a good sounding board for others,” said one of the postings last month.

“I live in Whistler BC. I was forced to kill and it has pretty much destroyed my soul. . . “

That post does not elaborate.

Another post noted that the photo accompanying the postings was taken from “a dog sled race last year.” The picture shows a man on an apparent winter campout with two dogs.

Other posts said he is using his real name and noted he is “pretty newly messed up.”

The WorkSafeBC documents show the dogs were killed after a veterinarian declined to destroy them because they were healthy.

The dogs, which were part of a pack of 300, were shot over two days last April.

The WorkSafe documents say that at one point, the worker had to get into the mass grave to finish off one of the animals. At another point, he had to chase and kill one dog that was howling in pain from a gunshot to the side of its head.

The documents also say that the man was attacked at least twice by nearby dogs as the shootings occurred. He was forced to slit the throat of one animal who was on top of him.

The dogs were owned by Howling Dog Tours, which is now owned and operated by Outdoor Adventures of Whistler.

Outdoor Adventures did not contest the claims by the man who shot the dogs. In a statement issued Monday, it said it was aware of the efforts to relocate and destroy the dogs last April.

“But it was our expectation that it was done in a proper, legal and humane manner. We only learned otherwise on Friday, Jan. 28, when we read the WCB ruling for the first time.”

Outdoor Adventures said it had a financial interest in Howling Dogs for four years, but operational control remained with the worker who killed the dogs.

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“Not long after the events of late April, the employee in question ceased managing the business. This employee continues to get our support as he heals from his injuries and illness.”

But the operator of Howling Dogs in Canmore, Alta., is outraged at the treatment of the dogs.

Rich Bittner said he sold his Whistler operation in 2004 to a man named Bob Fawcett and the company name was supposed to change because his company was no longer involved.

Fawcett is listed in various tourism documents as operating Whistler Dogsledding. That website is no longer operable.

His profile shows he was last on the site Jan. 17.

“I know I’ve said in the past that I’ve seen horrific things involving animal cruelty, but reading this, this blew my mind,” said Marcie Moriarty, general manager of cruelty investigations for the B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

“It was an absolute massacre. Some of the descriptions were . . . just horrifying.”

Moriarty’s office has opened a cruelty investigation and the RCMP is also looking into the incident.

The mushing community in Canada is tight-knit and several operators say while they routinely adopt dogs from other companies, they were not asked to take any from Whistler in early 2010.

Tim Tedford runs dogsled tours in the Big White area near Kelowna. He said he adopted four dogs last fall from another operator in Whistler, although he isn’t sure it was the one in question.

“I have to be very clear on this: That behaviour doesn’t sound like a real musher,” Tedford said in an interview.

While sled dogs are not household pets, most mushers are attached to them in the same way horse owners are to their animals, Tedford said.

“Most mushers love their dogs. That sounds more like an accountant to me. Most mushers would starve themselves before they’d ever neglect their dogs.”

Other dog-sled tour operators have issued news releases in an effort to distance themselves from what happened in Whistler, including Canadian Dogsled Adventures, which also offers tours in the resort area.

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