WESTLOCK, Alta. – A Westlock woman will pay close to $3,500 in fines and restitution after her dog, a three-year-old female Siberian Husky Cross Alaskan Malamute, escaped and attacked a passerby and killed her dog, a male Shih Tzu cross, earlier this summer.
In Westlock Provincial Court Sept. 7, Angela Kate Igot Asuncion pleaded guilty to being the owner of a dog which injures any person under the Town of Westlock’s Dog Control Bylaw, while charges of owner of an unlicensed dog, owner of a dog at large and owner of a dog which injures any animal were withdrawn by lawyer Brant C. De Rudder, who represents the town on its bylaw cases.
Judge Bruce Garriock agreed to the joint resolution by De Rudder and Asuncion that will see the woman pay a $2,500 fine and $970 in restitution for the vet bills that resulted from the care of the victim’s Shih Tzu cross — Asuncion told court she would pay both that day. In addition, Asuncion was ordered to surrender her Husky to authorities, which was deemed dangerous and put down.
Although no details of the case were read into the court record, De Rudder stated in a Sept. 8 e-mail that on July 6, 2022, a woman was walking her dog on 100th Avenue near the Westlock Community Garden.
The Husky, housed at an adjacent address, got loose and attacked the woman and her animal — the woman attempted to pick up her dog and as a result she was knocked to the ground.
De Rudder said the victim’s dog was “aggressively attacked” by the Husky — following the attack the Shih Tzu was rushed to the vet clinic where it succumbed to its injuries. De Rudder noted that the victim was also hurt during the attack, but her injuries were not deemed life threatening.
