B.C. judge orders new hearing on fate of ‘dangerous’ dog that bit child

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. – A dog previously declared dangerous and ordered destroyed by a B.C. judge has been granted a reprieve.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ronald Tindale has ordered a new hearing on the fate of Spartan, a dog that bit a four-year-old child in Mackenzie, B.C., in March 2015, leaving the boy with puncture wounds on his head.

A provincial court judge ruled in September last year that Spartan was dangerous and ordered that he be humanely euthanized.

The dog’s owner, Mitch Mortensen, appealed the ruling, arguing the judge made a mistake by not allowing him to question an animal control officer because her evidence wasn’t specific enough about whether the animal was dangerous.

Lawyers for the District of Mackenzie argued during the appeal that evidence from the animal control officer wouldn’t have changed the dangerous designation.

In a written decision released Tuesday, Tindale said that a new hearing could allow the officer to present evidence about the dog’s behaviour and what should be done with the animal.