No charges for man who used axe to break up dog fight near Cochrane

A man resorted to using an axe to save his dog and family from the “death grip” of an attacking canine earlier this month.

The animal owner was walking with his family walking near Cochrane one evening in early May when a pitbull-type dog rushed out of a house and zeroed in on his dog.

RCMP Cpl. Troy Savinkoff says a vicious and relentless attack ensued.

And, as is often the case, it was difficult for people around to successfully intervene in the chaotic situation.

“I’ve personally been involved in a few attacks,” Savinkoff says. “They are extremely unfortunate. I’m a great lover of dogs and you feel for all the dogs involved. In this particular case, you’ve got somebody walking past a neighbourhood and a dog runs out and chases and attacks this animal. So, this is a long, protracted fight and [it] has the other dog in, pretty much, a death grip.”

Savinkoff says both owners tried to pull the dog off its victim, and the pitbull’s owner sustained minor injuries in the process. Witnesses stepped in to try to pry the dog free.

At one point, they managed to separate them but the pitbull quickly resumed its assault; that’s when the owner of the dog under attack grabbed an axe.

Savinkoff says the man will not face any criminal charges for using it as a weapon to end the attack given police extensively examined the case, spoke to those involved and witnesses, and determined they didn’t have grounds to pursue any.

“At the end of the day, it is a criminal investigation. But that threshold is not a black and white situation,” he explains.

“In this particular case, [the dog owner] was an unwilling participant and ultimately did what he felt was right. We didn’t feel we have the grounds to charge him given the circumstances. We conducted a very thorough investigation.

“Emotions are high on both sides. It’s our job to come in and look at the situation to see if any criminal offence has been committed,” Savinkoff adds. “It’s a horrible event for the owners and the animals but ultimately, it didn’t meet the criteria for criminal charges.”

Parachutes 4 Pets reached out to the community to raise funds to help alleviate costs for the pitbull’s owner. They declined to comment on this story. The owner of the victim’s dog declined to comment.