A Canmore woman whose dog chased a bull moose while off-leash in Kananaskis Country learned an expensive lesson in court last week.
Jessica Meunier entered a guilty plea in Canmore Provincial Court last Thursday (Feb. 4) to breaching Alberta’s Provincial Parks Act in November.
Crown prosecutor Bev Shugg told the court commissioner that Meunier’s dog was seen by Alberta Parks Conservation Officer Arian Spiteri on Nov. 16 at about 3:30 p.m. off-leash in the Chester Lake parking lot.
Shugg said a bull moose was also in the parking lot when Spiteri witnessed the dog chase after it.
“It took them 30 minutes to find the dog on the trail,” she said. “There are signs clearly posted at the trailhead to keep dogs on leash.”
Meunier told the court commissioner that she fully understood the seriousness of the charge against her. She said it was the first time she had taken the dog out for a cross-country ski on a trail and made an error of judgement.
“It was a bad judgement,” she said. “I was not thinking about wildlife … I was not trying to be irresponsible and I understand it caused stress on the animal.”
The traffic commissioner issued a $600 fine and imposed a three-month ban on the dog from entering any provincial parks considered part of the Kananaskis area.
“Although it seems like a simple thing having your dog off leash for a short period of time on a quiet day, the consequences of what happened are serious,” said the commissioner.
