Coquitlam man charged with several bylaw offences after apparent dog attack

COQUITLAM (NEWS 1130) — A Coquitlam man has been charged with multiple bylaw violations after allegedly allowing his five dogs to attack another dog in the Burke Mountain area.

It took less than 24 hours for people in the Tri-Cities to identify the 36-year-old man, who is now facing $750 in fines for allowing his dogs to be off-leash.

Witnesses say Monday night around 8:30 p.m. the man’s five dogs attacked a smaller dog, which was badly hurt, according to a release from Coquitlam RCMP.

Then the owner apparently left the scene and refused to give his name, but not before flipping people the bird.

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Some of the incident was caught on video and was posted to social media. Police say this helped people identify the man and thanked them for calling in.

Despite the video leading to an arrest, police cautioned against posting such videos online.

“These videos never tell the full story and they often lead to tension and anger in the community,” says Cpl. Michael McLaughlin. “We want to avoid premature conclusions or people acting out of emotion.”

The owner of the small dog, named Romeo, has set up a gofundme page to help cover the vet bills. The fundraiser has already raised more than $2,600 by Wednesday afternoon.

“Romeo, our 10-year-old Pomeranian, was in surgery overnight for two hours, with three deep wounds and stitches internally and externally,” his owner writes on the page. “He’s currently unable to walk and on pain meds, and we hope he recovers physically and emotionally from this. Going for walks was his favourite thing to do and we hope that doesn’t change for him.”

The Coquitlam man is facing five counts of having an animal at-large (off-leash), which is $150 for each count, under the city’s Animal Care and Control Bylaw.

Police say they followed up with others involved in the incident and “encouraged them to use the civil court system, rather than personal interactions if they wish to pursue any further compensation.”