Yellowknife (Feb 04/05) - While there are people who seek to find homes for their animals when they can no longer keep them, others look to euthanasia or killing the dog themselves.

Janet Pacey, president of the NWT SPCA, said the Criminal Code states an animal must be killed humanely, but the law does not give specifics.

"The NWT Dog Act was changed in 1988 to allow bylaw officers to shoot dogs on site if they were running at large," she said.

The SPCA has been trying to have that legislation changed for years, said Pacey, but wording in the legislation does indicate the animal must be killed humanely.

The Canadian Veterinarian Medical Association also has guidelines on how animals should be killed, she said.

"It has to be quick and cause the least amount of pain possible. The preferred method is barbiturates."

The recent incident of six dogs tied up and shot near Yellowknife was improper, said Pacey.

"They were shot under the jaw, which would cause them to asphyxiate on bone and blood matter, which means they didn't die right away.

"The whole point of the gunshot is to cause immediate death." The acceptable way to shoot a dog is at the back of the head at the base of the brain stem, she said.

The cost of euthanizing a dog in Yellowknife is approximately $65, Pacey said.

Stray dogs are no longer being sent to the Edmonton Humane Society by Yellowknife's animal clinic.

Laureen Schidlowsky, general manager at the Great Slave Animal Hospital, said the testing required before an animal is admitted to the Edmonton shelter means that some dogs get turned away.

That means they would be euthanized immediately instead of being offered for adoption or sent back to Yellowknife.

"That would be part of the reason why we probably wouldn't send adult dogs down there anymore ourselves," Schidlowsky said.

"If there is the possibility of anything happening to those animals, they put them down and unfortunately there is nothing we can do for them," Schidlowsky said.

"We send them out and hope for the best for them," she said. "But as for puppies, Edmonton or Calgary are probably the best places to send them."

Melissa Boisvert, marketing and communications officer at the Edmonton Humane Society, said every animal gets a basic medical examination upon arrival from the North.

"We make sure they are in basic good health," she said. "If we do find there are medical problems, then we will certainly try to treat those or deal with them."

The Edmonton shelter also conducts temperament testing to determine if there are any concerns about the animal's behaviour.

"Perhaps we have to mention to the next family that it is not too good with kids, or it seems to be doing some resource guarding; or if it is a public safety issue, then in that case we would euthanize the dog," she said.

Boisvert said it's the shelter's responsibility to make sure they do their best to ensure dangerous animals do not get into the community.

She said she recalls one incident where dogs were sent down from the North.

"When they were behaviour tested, they were showing severe enough behaviour issues that we would have euthanized them."

But the original owner may get a last say in the matter. "Rescue groups in the NWT would prefer that, rather than euthanizing the animal, they would take it back," she said.