RCMP Watch

Cheryl Wierda, Abbotsford News

An RCMP dog was being assessed yesterday to determine if it is still suitable for work after it bit an eight-year-old boy who was out sledding in Abbotsford.

Around 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Abbotsford Police were called to the36200-block of Country Place – located near Whatcom and Lower Sumas Mountain roads – after the five-and-a-half-year-old German shepherd, which lives in the area, escaped from his kennel and bit the boy in the arm.

“Investigation so far has determined that the dog emerged from one of the yards and latched onto the boy’s arm as he sleighed down the roadway,” said Abbotsford Police Const. Casey Vinet. “Residents in the area, who heard the boy’s screams, went to his aid and began hitting the dog in attempts to have it let go.

“A passing motorist stopped to assist and hit the dog with an anti-theft device, causing it to release the child,” said Vinet.

The boy was taken to MSA Hospital, where he received stitches on his right forearm.

An Abbotsford Police canine officer responded to the call and took control of the off-duty RCMP dog, which has at least four years of service, without further incident.

Abbotsford Police are continuing to investigate, and the RCMP have appointed the officer in charge of Mission RCMP – Insp. Pat Walsh – to review the incident.

“Obviously, our first thoughts were for the boy and his family, and I’m happy to say he is at home now and is expected to make a full recovery from the wound to his arm,” said RCMP spokesman Staff Sgt. John Ward. “The dog’s handler is quite devastated by what happened, and I understand he has been in contact with the boy’s family.”

RCMP say it appears the kennel door and the gate securing the backyard of the dog handler’s home became unlatched, allowing the dog to leave his kennel and the fenced backyard area.

RCMP believe the heavy snow and high winds at the time may have played some role in the backyard gate blowing open and hindered the dog kennel latch from remaining closed.

In light of the incident, all dog handlers in the Lower Mainland were immediately directed to place a secondary locking system on both kennel latches and gates to their backyards. A pre-existing policy already requires dogs to be secured in kennels when handlers are not present.

The dog in question was expected to be assessed yesterday by the acting head of the Lower Mainland District Police Dog Services to determine if the dog is suitable for work, whether it should be pulled from service and given more training, or retired.

Results from that assessment were not expected to be known by press deadline yesterday.

“I understand that the dog is currently validated and certified for all mandatory levels of the annual certification process,” said Ward. “Furthermore, it has performed its duties well, and has never exhibited any inappropriate behaviour,

Our information is that earlier during its escape from the yard, the dog was actually playing with the neighbourhood children.”

The dog was also scheduled to be examined by a veterinarian yesterday for injuries it received during the incident.

The dog is expected to be boarded at a commercial kennel for the time being.