Police and the City said the dog posed an immediate threat toward members of the public

Prince Rupert RCMP shot and killed a dog named Choppo that was reportedly acting aggressively in Seal Cove on Friday morning.

At approximately 11:20 a.m. RCMP officers were called to assist the City of Prince Rupert bylaw officers in their attempts to control a dog that was on the loose. According to two seperate press releases from the RCMP and the city, the dog had been acting in an aggressive manner towards the public. The RCMP said steps had to be taken to protect the safety of community members.

“The Prince Rupert RCMP responded to a request to assist city bylaws with a vicious dog,” Cpl. Alex Langley, Acting Operations NCO, stated. “Based on the history of the dog attacking a member of the community and the dangerous and aggressive behavior displayed during the interaction, police made the unfortunate decision to put the dog down.”

Sofia Cardoso, Choppo’s owner, was out of the country at the time of the incident, but stated that her dog should have never been on the designated dangerous list in the first place, and that the city handled the situation poorly.

“The bylaw [officers] of Prince Rupert need to be trained how to properly deal with animals, and if it comes down to it be trained how to put an animal down humanely. What the city did was not humane, it was cruel,” she stated. “Losing my dog was like losing my child and I want justice for him, he did not deserve this. The City of Prince Rupert should never be able to do this to another dog again or put another family through this kind of pain.”

Prince Rupert RCMP said the decision was not taken lightly, and made after extensive efforts to safely apprehend the animal were unsuccessful and a tangible risk to the public had developed.

“Police made the difficult decision to kill a designated dangerous dog that was at large, behaving very aggressively, and which after many attempts could not be apprehended safely,” the city stated. “This is a step only taken in the most serious of circumstances, where an animal is considered to present an immediate danger to the public.”

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Alex Kurial | Journalist

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