Dog owner says misunderstanding behind abuse charge

An Alberta dog owner said a misunderstanding led to charges against him for abusing his animals.

Two dogs — a bearded collie and a Labrador/chow chow mix — were seized from an acreage in the Chestermere area east of Calgary on Monday following a tip to police.

Tom Piotr Bilski, 27, faces one charge of causing unnecessary suffering to animals. He has been released from custody on condition he not have contact with or possess any animals.

In an interview with CBC News on Wednesday, Bilski said he hopes the charge will be dropped because it was all a misunderstanding.

Bilski said he was afraid for the dogs' safety when he couldn't get them to stop chasing some coyotes so he tied their leashes to his quad, an all-terrain vehicle, and drove along with the dogs — named Biggie and Asia — running behind.

"Two of [our] cats were pretty much eaten by the coyotes. We do have a big problem out here with them, and I didn't want anything to happen to my dogs. That's why I brought them back," Bilski said.

A neighbour must have spotted him and called police, he said.

While a police media release stated that a quad was used to hurt the dogs, RCMP Sgt. Patrick Webb couldn't give any more details.

"They're still being examined just to make sure they're OK, but the allegation is that he was using a quad in relation to physically abusing those dogs," he said.

"We don't just arbitrarily lay a charge like this on a whim. We certainly have grounds to lay the charge."

The dogs will live with Bilski's brother until Bilski's next court appearance, scheduled for May 5 in Strathmore provincial court.