After spending months on doggy death row, Brindi’s life was saved Friday.
But it wasn’t the outcry of animal lovers from across the country that saved Francesca Rogier’s pet. It was Brindi’s lawyer convincing a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge the city’s animal-control system is illegal.
Blair Mitchell had argued the system gives too much power to city officers who can independently take a dog and sentence it to death. Mitchell argued there wasn’t an adequate system of warning to the owner or an appeal process.
The judge’s decision means the city’s animal-control bylaw will need to be overhauled. Mayor Peter Kelly said much of the bylaw can stay the same but parts will have to be altered.
“One part of it might have to change,” he said. “It’s under review as we speak. (Staff) will decide at the beginning of the week as to where to go from here.”
Council will eventually have to approve any changes that are made.
Brindi was captured by the city after it escaped Rogier’s property and attacked a guide dog in July. It was the third time the dog had attacked another animal and the animal-control officer deemed it was too violent to be released.
