The Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD), meanwhile, would like to see the courts decide what happens with Manseau's dogs, as they are involved in a legal battle following a situation last month when an animal control officer arrived at her property and seized her dogs. The dogs are being held at the Comox Valley SPCA.
The incident that spurred the seizure began on Jan. 5, following a complaint of a vicious dog attack, said Derald Lewis, bylaw compliance manager for the CVRD.
"The injured dog was a small Jack Russell terrier that belongs to the Manseaus' next door neighbour. This was a vicious attack where the terrier had been dragged through a wire fence and received serious injuries to the throat and back area," he explained.
"The dog was immediately taken to the vet where it underwent hours of surgery. The Comox Valley District bylaw department conducted an investigation and subsequently applied .... (under the) Community Charter and ... Local Government Act that the dangerous dogs be destroyed."
Manseau said her dogs, whom she has raised for years, are "gentle giants."
"The (breed) is known for their gentleness. (One of the dogs) was called Gentle Mount, and the other, Black Mount," explained Manseau. "They are the sweetest, most gentle dogs you've ever met."
Manseau said along with the past few years, the last month or so "has been hell," following the incident with her neighbour, which she said was the catalyst for the seizure.
She describes last month while sitting at her kitchen table, a member from the Comox Valley RCMP along with an animal control officer showed up at her door.
"They handed me a piece of paper and said we're taking the dogs — they're vicious. The regional district took the dogs to the SPCA and are in a kennel. The vet can't see the dogs ... I'm not allowed to see the dogs, and all they (CVRD) will tell me is that they are well looked after," she said.
"They are possibly confining the dogs by themselves and another dog might in the confined space with them. They are going to do anything possible to make sure my dogs are dead."
Lewis confirmed the dogs were taken to the Comox Valley SPCA and will be kept there until the matter is heard in provincial court, with an initial date scheduled for March 1.
He added the regional district was in court in December with a couple of Manseau's [dogs] on a separate incident involving them chasing calves. They were unable to get scheduled court time, and the matter was stayed.
Manseau said she and her neighbour have had issues with animals in each other's property for years, but added it was the incident last month with the Jack Russell that led to the complaint that has resulted in the seizure.
She explained her husband Jacques walked to another house on their property with the two dogs and heard a yelp. She noted it would not be possible for her dogs to put their heads through a four-inch wire and grab the Jack Russell by the head.
"My dogs couldn't even get their noses through the page wire. They are highly bred dogs. They next things I know, they are being taken away. Why didn't the regional district do an investigation?" she asked.
Lewis noted the injured dog's owners had previously constructed a second fence on their property because of past disputes.
"The terrier had probably been dragged through two difference fences. Maybe it stuck its neck through the fences, but it was a vicious attack," he said. "I looked at a four-inch square (in the fence) and it's not a four-inch square anymore. It's a round hole, so the fence had been altered when they were dragged through that particular fence.
"The bottom line is that the terrier was near that fence. He didn't get injured by crawling through the fence. It's logically impossible that it could have happened."
Manseau admitted she is concerned about what is being told about her to other residents living in the area.
"There is a rumour going around that my dogs are vicious. It's gotten to a point where it's absolutely unbelievable," she added. "(Stories are going around) not so much by what they see ... but it's what they've been told."
Manseau noted she feels as though she has been harassed both in person and online, where she said negative comments and accusations have been posted to Facebook.
"All I want is my property, my two dogs and to be left alone. The dogs never go off the property without someone there."
Lewis said he has received complaints from more than just one neighbour.
"We have an obligation to look into this matter and ensure the public is safe and the animals in that neighbourhood are safe, too," he noted.
(Comox Valley Record - February 21, 2012)
