Anatomy of a sled dog massacre

The more I learn about the mass-killing of 100 sled dogs in British Columbia, the more the phrase "nobody's dogs" keeps going through my mind.



They were killed -- brutally -- by the man who was supposed to be caring for him, who had, in some cases, raised them from  pups.



The company that "downsized" them out of existence mostly defended itself by saying it hadn't known how the dogs were going to be killed, as if a clean death in a vet's office could somehow sanitize killing 100 healthy dogs.



And the local shelter, whose mission was supposedly to help animals in their community, to provide rescue, haven, and re-homing, was on record saying that even if they'd been aware of the dogs' plight before they were massacred, they'd probaby have killed them, too.



Didn't these dogs have anyone who gave a damn about them?



They did. Sadly, those people didn't know what was going to happen in time to stop it, but they're speaking out now. For my SFGate.com column, I spoke with a number of sled dog advocates, and learned about their dogs, and efforts to make sure all former and retired sled dogs have a happy ending when their time on the trail is done.



My editor, however, felt that my SFGate readers wouldn't have enough background, so he had me turn the column into a two-part series. Part one runs today, with a focus on the history of the slaughter in much more detail -- some of it graphic -- than I shared here on Pet Connection. Click with caution.

It was a dog-lover's worst nightmare made real. Canadian radio station CKNW obtained leaked workers-compensation documents that graphically described the brutal massacre of 100 dogs in the British Columbia town of Whistler.



A man later identified as Robert Fawcett, manager of a sled dog tour company in Whistler, had filed the claim, citing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) caused by "having to put down a large number of dogs" under orders of his employer, Outdoor Adventures Whistler, because business had fallen off.



Fawcett, the claim states, had been with the company for many years, and knew the dogs well. He had named them. He'd raised them. He was responsible for feeding them, caring for them, and handling them. He lived with them, and was available to tend to them seven days a week. He had developed, he said, "a relationship of mutual love and trust" with them.

Read the rest here... the second part will run next week.



Photo from SFGate.com: A sled dog rests at a kennel operated by Whistler Outdoor Adventures near Whistler, British Columbia, on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2011. Darryl Dyck / AP

Comments

[Rob McMillin]

As more details emerge about this disaster, it looks like massive failures at multiple levels: Bob Fawcett was on the board of Mush with Pride, an organization dedicated to humane treatment of sled dogs:

Mush with P.R.I.D.E. was established in 1991 as an organization of mushers who were concerned about the care of sled dogs and public perceptions of mushing.

It appears Fawcett was more interested in the "perceptions" part of that sentence. And then there was the BC SPCA, who appear callously uninterested in the welfare of animals ... their latest update on this situation, dated Feb. 4, says

No, the BC SPCA was not approached to help rehome any of these animals. The BC SPCA met with the tour operator on May 28, 2010 – more than one month after the cull. This meeting was called to discuss ways to improve welfare for the animals, but there was no request for assistance in rehoming animals and details of the April 21st and 23rd slaughter were not disclosed to the SPCA.

When did the BC SPCA first learn of the slaughter of the dogs?



The BC SPCA first learned of the incident on Jan. 28, 2011 after receiving a copy of a WorkSafeBC report from CKNW Radio, which outlined details of the killings by an employee who was being granted compensation for post traumatic stress disorder. A cruelty investigation was immediately launched in the case.

One thing I have not heard discussed is the fact that the investigation into this matter is apparently being handled jointly between the RCMP and the BC SPCA. Given that there are accusations that the SPCA fell down on the job (and admitted they wouldn't have rehomed the dogs anyway), why are they even part of this at all?

[Kim]

The BCSPCA has a long and sordid history of failing to protect animals - while performing seizures at the drop of a hat when they think they can make some money... regardless of whether the seizures were warranted.



This is the best link to begin learning what they are all about:



http://www.animaladvocates.com/



They are also WAY too attached to the Sue Sternberg school of thought in regards to aggressive behaviour.

[Teri and the cats of Furrydance]

The work comp docs were one of the worse descriptions of abuse I have ever read. That being said, and I am shaking still and feel numb, I am glad you made that information available. Sometimes people need fires lit underneath their posteriors as a 'call to arms' to strive to end their day to 'do no harm' and to know that 'helping someone take better care of their pets'...I am a vet tech and that is 'how I roll..."

[Viatecio]

That document was nothing short of mind-blowing...my jaw just kept dropping further and further open as I read it. Those dogs received the worst end they could have gotten...nothing "humane" about that!



I also kind of face-palmed when I read the behaviorists' judgement...that's nothing short of idiocy.



I bet they'll say next that all the sled dogs living in peoples' homes already went through some majical change that made them less sled-doggy, since obviously, sled dogs can't be put into pet homes? Maybe I shouldn't hold my breath.

[Donna]

I've only just found the nerve to read the details about this slaughter. My own dog is from sled dog stock. He's incredibly sensitive to - for lack of a better term - "the pack vibe" ... It's part of what makes owning these dogs so special. What horrors. I have to imagine the spot where the slaughter occurred will be forever haunted.

[Indra]

Having the BCSPCA do the investigation is like letting an accessory to murder do the CSI work.

[Mary Sheehan Winn]

Sickening and criminal what people do to animals.No justice for these poor animals.

[Larry]

How many property units were being transferred, due to change of ownership?