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Dog lovers protest at city council meeting (Updated)

A number of supporters of Dunaj the dog showed up at City Hall tonight (Monday) in an impromptu protest to try and save the dog's life and demand action from city leaders.

A number of supporters of Dunaj the dog showed up at City Hall tonight (Monday) in an impromptu protest to try and save the dog's life and demand action from city leaders.

The group of local supporters were seen in Council Chambers during Monday night’s committee meetings holding signs that read “Save Dunaj” with a portrait of the pooch.

Nicole Peltier, the spokesperson for the protest group who attended the meeting on Monday night, said while the online support for Dunaj has exploded throughout the day, getting through to local leaders is imperative for spreading the message.

“Their support and acknowledgment is so important,” said Peltier after Monday’s meeting. “It just gives us a personal feeling of not only accomplishment, but support from our leaders and they want to represent us, but because this is a legal issue they legally can’t intervene.”

Dunaj, also known as “The Downtown Doberman”, is being held in a two-by-three foot cage at the Humane Society under order from the North Bay Health Unit for reportedly biting a pedestrian on Main Street back in October.

However, multiple witnesses have jumped to the dog’s defense, stating that Dunaj did not bite the individual and, instead, merely barked at the man who had just kicked him in the face.

The North Bay Police Services has received no report of an intoxicated male kicking a dog in mid-October.

For more on the original story and witness testimony, click here: http://www.baytoday.ca/content/news/details.asp?c=70528

Peltier said there is a tribunal hearing set for January 5 to appeal the destroy order, at which time the Health Service’s Appeal and Review Board will make a final decision. There is, however, an extermination order that has been issued for Dunaj, who will remain at the Humane Society until that final decision.

Rob Szalas, the dog’s owner, has said he continues to visit Dunaj every day and has since gone on record to say that the Human Society is taking an unfair hit for simply housing the dog while he awaits his hearing.

For more on what Szalas has said, click here: http://www.baytoday.ca/content/news/details.asp?c=70551

On a day in which the Facebook group in support of Dunaj’s release saw their support “likes” grow by over 1,500, the group of supporters said they think their presence felt on a more personal level by attending the committee meetings.

“We just want a greater awareness of what is going on,” said Peltier. “Many of the city councillors are very supportive, but because it is a legal issue they cannot intervene, so we really just wish to get the word out and support Dunaj the dog.”

Mayor Al McDonald confirmed he and council members, including Humane Society executive director Daryl Vaillancourt, are unable to chime in on the issue.

“From what I understand it’s a legal process that has been started by the Health Unit, so as a council and as a Mayor we cannot interfere with an ongoing process that is legal and before a tribunal or court system, so we can’t really comment on this situation,” Mayor McDonald said after the meeting. 

Regardless of the council’s inability to take any furher action at this time, Peltier said the mere acknowledgement from local leaders was a step in the right direction.

“I want the dog’s life to be spared; the dog did not bite the individual, did not provoke the individual…the dog was not at fault,” Peltier said passionately. “I wish for Dunaj to be exonerated of any wrong doing whatsoever.

“The more ground support that we can get for animal rights and animal abuse and how animals are not at fault is the best way to come out of this situation with a win,” she concluded.

To sign the petition to save “The Downtown Doberman”, click here: https://www.change.org/p/ontario-health-services-appeal-and-review-board-spare-the-life-of-dunaj-the-downtown-doberman

To view the Facebook group in support of Dunaj, click here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-Dunaj-the-Downtown-Doberman/467270553411538?pnref=story
 


Jeff Turl

About the Author: Jeff Turl

Jeff is a veteran of the news biz. He's spent a lengthy career in TV, radio, print and online, covering both news and sports. He enjoys free time riding motorcycles and spoiling grandchildren.
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