Trevor - Press Release

Humane Society Yukon
Trevor’s Day in Court
August 7, 2009

On August 6th, Humane Society Yukon and Kevin Sinclair went in front of the Yukon Supreme Court to ask that the Humane Society’s claim on Trevor be recognized by the City of Whitehorse. Our claim was successful. Trevor has been granted a reprieve and an opportunity to have his behaviour formally assessed by a qualified trainer.

The judge agreed with our position that the City of Whitehorse should acknowledge our claim on ownership and interest in Trevor.

The City clarified that it has not declared Trevor a dangerous dog, as defined under the Animal Control Bylaw. The city also acknowledged that there are only two documented bite incidents involving Trevor, one of which broke the skin.

Most importantly, the judge agreed with us that the city cannot kill Trevor under a clause of the Animal Control Bylaw (Section 120) that is intended to protect public safety in immediate situations of urgency (such as a dog rampaging), as they had planned to do. This clause is not written in a way that should give powers to Bylaw Services to euthanize surrendered and impounded dogs such as Trevor, as they present no immediate public safety concern. This judge’s finding may help many other dogs, as the pound euthanizes approximately two dozen impounded dogs each year. We don’t know how many of those impounded dogs have been killed under Section 120 of the Animal Control Bylaw. The City will have to decide how the judge’s interpretation of the Bylaw will affect their future practices.

Humane Society Yukon and Bylaw Services will be working together over the next several weeks to determine what the best next steps will be for Trevor. Trevor will be returned to the Mae Bachur Shelter, where he will reside in the isolation area for the assessment period. He will be cared for by shelter staff, and will be formally assessed by one or two experienced trainers/assessors, chosen jointly by us and the city. For caution’s sake, Trevor will spend the next several weeks under some restrictions. For instance, he will wear a muzzle and a short leash when being walked, and he will only be walked or handled in presence of a shelter staff person. The general public will not have ready access to Trevor, and he will not be fostered or adopted out during this time.

If the assessment is favourable, and the trainers feel Trevor is fine or that he can be rehabilitated, the City will return him to the Humane Society with no conditions. If the assessment is negative, he will be returned to the City to be euthanized. There will be a court hearing in mid-September so the court may have closure on the case.

We’d like to extend a big thank you to the many members of the public who contacted us to express their support for Trevor. We’d also like to thank Kevin Sinclair for initially bringing the case to court, and those who directly supported his efforts. We are very grateful to Robert Pritchard from the Law Line for helping us navigate the process and the maze of paperwork related to the court case; thank you so much, Robert, for offering this invaluable service to the public.

The Humane Society is paying for Trevor’s assessment, and for any rehabilitation that Trevor may require. We are relying on donations to our Bella fund to pay for Trevor’s assessment and any other special care he may need. The Humane Society can process donations and issue charitable receipts. If you would like to make a donation, please contact shelter@northwestel.net or call 867-633-6019.