After escorting owners to vet clinic and finding that their pet has died, officer issues speeding ticket

CANADA -- A Quebec couple issued a $258 speeding ticket over the weekend intend to contest the ticket because they were rushing their dying chihuahua to the veterinarian.

Const. Franco Di Genova of Laval police said the couple were pulled over on the Highway 440 service road near Curé-Labelle Boulevard at around 10:25 a.m. local time Saturday for driving 107 km/h in a 70 km/h zone.

Francine Monette says she was performing mouth to mouth resuscitation on her unconscious dog, named Mister Albert.

 

"I was crying and said to him, 'Please, sir, please — we have to get to the clinic. He's dying, my dog is dying,'" Monette told CBC News.

The officer escorted the couple to the vet, where Monette went inside with the dog while her husband stayed outside with the officer.

Mister Albert was treated at the Centre Vétérinaire Laval, where he died.

Monette's husband received a $258 ticket and was docked three demerit points.

"There was no compassion, no hesitation, no nothing. [The officer] was like ice," Monette said. "He could have given us a warning."

She said it's not the price of the ticket but the principle of the matter that is motivating her decision to fight the fine and file a police ethics complaint.

"[Mister Albert] was like our baby, our infant," Monette said.

Di Genova said he understands the couple's love for their pet, but laws have to be respected.

“I own a dog also, but where do we draw the line?” Di Genova said.

(CBC - Sept 19, 2014)