“They were Tasered ... to take them into custody as a use of force option, the least amount of force available to our officers to safely get the dogs under control,” said duty Staff Sgt. Jay Judin.
Police and bylaw officers were called to the 200 block of Martindale Boulevard N.E. at around 10:30 a.m. after receiving reports of two dogs at large.
One call was from a woman who was charged by the dogs and called police from a nearby residence. Another was from the principal of Ecole La Mosaique, who quickly ushered his students back into the school before contacting police, Judin said.
As lunch time was nearing, the elementary school and a second school in the area were advised to keep students indoors while officers tended to the animals, he added.
Armed with poles with snares at the end, officers tracked the dogs to the train tracks at the Martindale LRT station, with members positioned on each side of the tracks so the dogs could not escape.
“The dogs were growling and snapping at officers,” Judin said.
For two to three blocks, the officers followed the dogs northeast along the tracks until one officer deployed a Taser to capture one of the animals, Judin said.
At that point, the second dog lunged and bit the thigh of a police officer, leaving three puncture wounds. That dog was subsequently zapped with a Taser and restrained.
By 12:15 p.m., animal and bylaw services had both animals in custody.
EMS spokesman Adam Loria said the officer was treated at the scene for minor injuries but did not need to be sent to hospital.
Doug Anderson, animal and bylaw services operations co-ordinator, said both Tibetan mastiffs were licensed and at least one of them was wearing a dog tag at the time.
He said an assessment will be conducted to look into the animals’ behaviour and history, and a dangerous dog hearing could be called. Charges are also pending against the owners.If a mandatory court date is ordered, the dogs will remain in the care of animal and bylaw services until then, he added.
Anderson said there is a current ongoing investigation involving the dogs regarding an incident within the past week.
(calgaryherald.com - April 9, 2013)
