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ARVIAT - Ross Paterson was choking back the tears as he cut the body of his family's pet, Nuna, away from the group of dead dogs tied together in a shallow trench at the Arviat dump.

Nuna came into the Patersons' lives while they were at their Disappointment Lake cabin, about 35 km outside of town.

Ross and Charlene Paterson and their daughter, Kaia Howmik, play with their family pet, Nuna, during happier times for them in Arviat. - photo courtesy of the Paterson family

Nuna introduced herself to the Patersons as only a dog looking for a family can.

She stayed overnight, ate goulash in the morning and won the family over by following them back to Arviat.

Ross took Nuna to the veterinarian who visited Arviat this past summer and was told she was a mix of husky and border collie, aged nine to 14 months.

Nuna was spayed and cared for and quickly became part of the family - a part of the family their two-year-old daughter still hopes to see come home.

"Our baby still asks for Nuna almost every day and can't understand why she doesn't come home anymore," said Ross.

"Nuna wore a collar and she had a registry number tattooed in her right ear and her name in the other ear.

"She was a very social dog who would play with complete strangers and never showed any aggression towards people or animals."

When Nuna went missing on Sept. 18, the Patersons spent four hours looking for her around town.

The following day they put posters around Arviat and went on local radio to describe the dog and let people know they wanted her back.

Ross's wife, Charlene, also called bylaw on Sept. 19 to describe Nuna.

Ross said during the four days Nuna was missing, he put in about 15 hours on his ATV looking for her.

"What's really sickening about the whole thing is that I could understand it if they shot an aggressive dog or one so mangy that it looked like it wasn't being cared for.

"But Nuna was brushed regularly and was very attractive and healthy-looking.

"She got away from us once during the first couple of weeks we had her in the summer and again, recently, when a neighbour held her overnight for us.

"So, counting the last time, she was off her leash three times in the more than five months we had her."

Ross said there must be a better way for the hamlet to handle loose dogs than to just shoot them on sight.

He said he checked the two cages the hamlet sometimes puts loose dogs in five times every day Nuna was missing and, as far as he's concerned, she was never there.

"Since this happened to us, we've talked to so many people in town with similar stories that it's really quite maddening.

"They say the dogs are euthanized but destroyed is a more truthful word."

Ross said his family is devastated by losing Nuna, who they had grown to care for so much.

"I can't express how it felt to find her in the dump, lying in a heap tied to about 15 other dogs in a little trench.

"It really shook me up to have to crawl in and dig my dog out.

"Now I'm living with the raw anger of why they shot her and left her like that because she didn't do anything to deserve a fate like this."

Charlene said she's disappointed with the overall bylaw process in Arviat.

She said the process doesn't have much compassion for animals viewed as valued family members by pet owners in the community.

"We - and a lot of other people - were never given the chance to claim our dog, which we had vested a lot of time in and looked upon as a part of our family, said Charlene.

"It's hard to accept someone was so quick to do away with the dogs rather than make a real effort to find their owners.

"They have to realize this is painful for the owners involved."

Jennie Kalluak is the acting senior administrative officer in Arviat.

She said she appreciates why the Patersons are upset but Arviat has been dealing with a bad dog problem for quite some time now.

She said the hamlet has issued numerous public notices advising residents of the dog problem and telling them to keep their animals restrained on their property.

"We've done our best to warn residents that these animals will be put down because the hamlet has had a really big problem all summer with loose dogs," said Kalluak.

"We have a bylaw for dogs that states owners are responsible for them.

"It says if a domestic dog is kept outside, the owner has to provide adequate kennelling, penning, chaining or tying up to ensure the animal is secured in the yard.

"This was unfortunate, but pet owners have to realize the hamlet is dealing with a big problem here and we don't want any more hurt by these dogs roaming free."

The bylaw officer who put down the Paterson's dog did not respond to a request to phone Kivalliq News for an interview.