SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A dog left unattended in freezing temperatures on an apartment balcony, possibly for multiple days and nights, was surrendered – reportedly by the dog's owners – to Great Slave Animal Hospital on Dec. 9 after the city was unable to contact the dog's owners.

A Siberian husky on the balcony of a Fort Gary Apartments unit on Dec. 6 was reportedly surrendered to the Great Slave Animal Hospital Dec. 9. - Walter Strong/NNSL photo

The city's Municipal Enforcement Division (MED) attended the scene at Fort Gary Apartments on Gitzel Street Dec. 6 after receiving a complaint from a resident of the apartment building who said the dog had been left on the second floor balcony for a couple days, uncared for.

Unable to contact the homeowners, and after assessing the health of the dog from a neighbouring balcony, bylaw officers left the scene. That evening, they returned to the apartment every hour for the remainder of their shift but were unable to contact the apartment tenants.

The dog was then left, apparently, to face a -30 C night on the concrete balcony.

If the dog had been left in a backyard, and if bylaw officers had determined the animal was in distress, action could have been taken.

"If the dog is in the yard, we can make a judgement call and determine if we need to take the dog into a vet," said Dennis Marchiori, City of Yellowknife's director of public safety.

It's a different situation when a dog is left inside a private residence.

"Because we would have to go through the residence to get to the balcony, we would need a warrant," Marchiori said.

"(A) personal residence is a difficult one for us," he added.

"In some cases, the owner will be back by the time we get a warrant, and in other cases the justice may say, 'I'm not going to give you a warrant (just) so you can go through a house to get to a dog.'"

Marchiori said that as of last Wednesday, municipal enforcement had not made contact with the dog owner, but had learned the owner turned over the dog to Great Slave Animal Hospital (GSAH).

As far as Marchiori could gather, the dog owner had arranged for a pet sitter while away, but that dog sitter had been negligent.

"At this point we feel a little better knowing the dog is at the Great Slave Animal Hospital," Marchiori said.

"Hopefully, somebody will adopt it and give it a great home."

But finding a new home is taking a while. As of Dec. 16 the dog – whose name is unknown – was still at the animal hospital as municipal enforcement tried unsuccessfully to contact her owners.

"MED has been unsuccessful in getting a hold of the dog's current owner," Marchiori stated in an e-mail Dec. 16.

"As such, GSAH will be releasing the dog to the SPCA in order to start an adoption process."

Municipal enforcement may still consider a charge under the city's dog bylaw.

The first offence for causing a dog to be in distress carries a $250 fine, the second offence a $500 fine and the third earns a visit to court.

Charges, Marchiori said, would be against the dog's owner and not the dog sitter.

"It comes back to the responsibility of the owner," Marchiori said.

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