Vancouver woman starts petition to keep small dogs safe in city parks

VANCOUVER (CityNews) — A woman whose dog died after being attacked by a much larger dog at an off-leash park in Vancouver wants the city to make changes to keep smaller pups safe.

Vanessa Tom took Zooey — an eight-pound Yorkie-mix — to New Brighton Park on July 12 where she began playing with another little dog.

But then a larger dog approached, became aggressive, and bit Zooey.

“I had grabbed the dog by the collar and shoved my hand into its mouth to try and get my dog out. My dog finally was released and she was alive when she was released, but the minute I picked her up, she died in my arms,” Tom says.

“There are times where days are okay, I can look at a picture of her and smile. And then there’s other days where I look at a picture of her and I cry. I just miss her so much.”

After Zooey’s death, Vanessa created an online petition calling on the Park Board to create more safe play areas for small dogs. Over 2,000 people have signed it.

“I started this petition because incidents like mine, they don’t have to happen, especially at a fenced-in City of Vancouver dog park. Other municipalities — like Burnaby, Richmond, New West, Maple Ridge — they all have large and small dog parks. They are separated,” she says.

“All off leash dog parks throughout the city of Vancouver should have a section for small breed dogs. They deserve to live and play without fear of being attacked and killed,” the petition reads.

Hinge Park in Olympic Village is currently the only fully-fenced and gated small dog park in Vancouver, according to data from the Dog Network.

Just a week after Vanessa’s petition went out, Jonna Lepeska’s chihuahua puppy Milo was fatally attacked by larger dog in Point Grey. She says the large dog was off-leash in an area where that was not allowed.

“And literally just grabbed him, bit him, and shook him. And his spine was dislocated in two places and he had a punctured lung,” she says.

“When I heard about the petition, I was like, ‘Oh what a great thing!’ This is exactly what I want. I want justice for my dog, and every little dog!”

Park Board Commissioner John Irwin says in a statement, “I will ask staff if these events, including injuries caused by larger dogs conflicting with small dogs, are occurring regularly. If they are … I will attempt to have staff explore separate off-leash areas for smaller dogs.”