A custody battle over a five-month old rottweiler is underway after the puppy was hit and nearly killed by a vehicle on River Street, near Dundas St. E. in Toronto on April 9.
Dan McConnell who says he’s a lifelong dog owner took in the dog, King, three weeks before the incident after a family member, who could no longer take care of the puppy, reached out to him.
“The day this accident happened, King was at a park near the corner of the intersection with my granddaughter when he yanked off his leash and ran into the street where he was hit by a driver who did not stop,” explained McConnell.
McConnell, who works as a crossing guard, was not there at the time but says his granddaughter and his girlfriend first took the dog to the Toronto Humane Society (THS) where it was advised the dog be taken immediately to an emergency vet clinic.
McConnell then met his family members at THS where he talked with the veterinarian.
“I said, ‘well, how bad is he?’ They said, ‘He’s very, very critical. There’s a slim chance he’s gonna make it,’” McConnell said.
According to the veterinarian’s records, obtained by CityNews, McConnell was advised the dog was in guarded condition with severe injuries.
The records stated the dog had sustained several injuries and there was concern of severe pulmonary contusions causing respiratory distress. The dog would have to be put in ICU care with estimated time in hospital between 24-72 hours.
The records also stated that all the information was shared with McConnell.
“Although prognosis is guarded and they can get worse before they get better, they do have a good chance of full recovery with appropriate care,” says the veterinarian in the records.
A quote was also provided to McConnell with a wide estimate. McConnell, according to the records, said he did not have the money to pay at the time.
He also says, given the dog’s condition, he made a decision.
“I said ‘I’m the owner, put him down. If he’s that bad, I don’t want my puppy to suffer. Two days later, I find out he’s up on Facebook for adoption. Like hello, that’s my dog,” he said.
The post he’s referring to was put up by Mattie’s Place, a Toronto non-profit with a huge network of donors. Vet hospitals, like the one his dog was taken to, will often reach out to the organization if an owner cannot afford emergency care to avoid euthanasia.
“They will call and say, ‘look, we have this pet, this is the situation. Is there any way that the rescue can take on the debt and the decision-making and the pet is surrendered to you?’” stated Mattie’s Place founder Denise Angus.
Before it gets to that however, pet owners must first agree by signing a legal form which clearly states that they are surrendering the animal.
“The reason we do that is to avoid any confusion,” Angus said. “The very last part of it says, ‘do you understand that you are surrendering this dog?’ And they checked ‘Yes’ and the dog was surrendered. We then assume all costs and decision making associated with the pet’s care,” she explained.
McConnell did not sign the form, instead his girlfriend, Barbara MacDougall, did.
“I was told about a surrender to keep him alive, I wanted to do everything in my power. I mean, he’s only five months old, who wants to see a five-month-old be put down?” she told us. “But they never should have accepted my signature. It’s not my dog.”
“I was not approached at any time about giving my dog up for adoption,” McConnell added.
CityNews also obtained the surrender form and while MacDougall is the sole signature on the document, Angus says the vet records tell a different story.
“The conversations the veterinarian had, again, according to the legal document which is in the vet records, is that he (McConnell) was present and part of the whole surrender conversation,” said Angus.
McConnell disagrees with that, again stating he thought his dog was not going to make it, which is why he agreed to euthanasia.
While he acknowledged he did not have the money to pay for his dog’s care at the time, he said if he had a better understanding that the dog could survive, he would’ve gone to social media and asked for financial help from the public.
“Just like Mattie’s Place did,” he said. “And I guarantee you, I would’ve got the money. Did I get that chance? No,” he said.
Angus – once again referencing the vet records with detailed accounts of the conversation the vetrinarian had with McConnell – argues he did have that chance.
“It was very clear that this dog was going to be admitted for days so he did have options and he did have time,” she said. “When I took over this dog’s care, I didn’t know I could raise the money, there was no guarantee of that. I still agreed to take him on and I still agreed to figure it out.”
And thanks to large donations – amounting to nearly $12,000 – the dog, now named George, is out of the vet hospital but still requires around the clock care. He is being fostered at the home of a veterinary technician to ensure he gets the monitoring needed for a full recovery.
Angus said at this point she is not comfortable releasing the dog back into McConnell’s care, citing many reasons she did not disclose, but did tell us the previous owners had not yet taken the puppy to see a veterinarian before the accident and there were no recorded vaccinations for the dog.
McConnell said he was waiting for his pension cheque at the end of the month to do that.
“And that’s when I was going to get him his needles. Like, we just got the dog, give us a chance.”
Angus does not dispute that McConnell loved his puppy.
“There’s no question. But you made a decision and I took over responsibility. We’re not working as hard as we do just to take dogs from people,” she said. “I’m just out here trying to save this dog.”
While the battle over custody continues, Angus said pet owners should learn from this story.
“Please, understand there are large costs. If your pet gets sick or in an accident you have to find a way to be prepared in these moments. That’s why I advocate so strongly about pet insurance, because otherwise here we are,” she said.
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