Whitehorse death-row dog's fate still in limbo

A dog at the centre of a year-old Yukon court saga will stay at a Whitehorse animal shelter for at least three more months, while municipal officials decide if his proposed new home is adequate.

Whitehorse city officials said Monday they need more time to consult with people in another Yukon community, Burwash Landing, before allowing a resident there to adopt Trevor the dog.

The Rottweiler-shepherd cross has been the subject of a Yukon Supreme Court case since July 2009, when Humane Society Yukon won a temporary injunction stopping city bylaw officers from destroying the aggressive but troubled dog.

Trevor has since been kept in an isolation pen at the Mae Bachur Animal Shelter in Whitehorse, while the city and the humane society find someone who would adopt him.

More talks needed: officer

An unidentified resident of Burwash Landing, a community of about 73 residents located 285 kilometres northwest of Whitehorse, has volunteered to adopt Trevor.

But Whitehorse senior bylaw officer Dave Pruden said the city wants to talk with Burwash Landing residents and officials to ensure a potential problem is not being transferred to the small community.

"The ultimate concern always has been public safety. There's the [Kluane] First Nation out there, and then there's also the government of Yukon," Pruden said outside court Monday.

"There's other facets to this that I'm not going to get into discussing, because I don't know exactly what the final plan's going to look like."

Yukon Supreme Court Justice Ron Veale granted the extension to the city on Monday morning.

Final ruling in October

However, Veale warned that he will make a definitive ruling on Trevor's fate regardless of how those talks turn out when the case returns to court on Oct. 5.

"It's a long time for an animal to be in the shelter, and we would like to see him moved out of there sooner rather than later. He does have many hours outside the shelter everyday, so he's been doing well, but we do need to get things moving," Rachel Westfall, a director with the humane society, said outside court.

"We understand, too, that there are things that need to be done before the city's satisfied that we can move him out. So we're just plugging away."

Trevor's saga began when he was originally rescued from abuse early last year and brought to the humane society shelter.

The dog was adopted out several months later, but by July he was surrendered to the Whitehorse pound following a number of attacks on people.

After the court injunction was granted, an animal behaviour assessment concluded that Trevor would likely remain an anti-social and dangerous dog, but added that he can be managed with the right owner.

Westfall said the prospective owner from Burwash Landing has agreed to take extra training from a Whitehorse dog obedience expert.