A female mastiff Rottweiler cross has been euthanized after getting through a fence and attacking people on three occasions near Salmon Arm.
According to a Dec. 16, 2025 ruling from provincial court judge George Leven
, the first reported attack occurred on June 19, 2024, when a 75-year-old man cycling past a rural property on Salmon River Road was knocked off his bike and bitten by a dog that had escaped its property.
Two days later, a woman walking past the same property south of Salmon Arm was attacked by the same dog that had again escaped through a fence around the property.
Later that day, animal control officers visited the dog owners Colin and Sandra Burger.
“The animal control officers had a discussion with Mr. Burger,” Leven wrote.
“He acknowledged that the fence that runs the perimeter of the property had holes that allow his dogs to escape and run at large. He observed a female pedestrian earlier in the day who was hitting Luna but he was unaware that the female pedestrian was attacked by Luna and did not express concern for the pedestrian’s well-being after being informed about the attack.
“He admits that the dogs run at large occasionally, and he gets notified by neighbours that they found his dogs on their property. He informed the animal control officers that he had purchased shock collars for the dogs with one-kilometre ranges. He then demonstrated their effectiveness by activating a remote. The officers say they observed the dogs and observed that their behaviour appeared unaffected by the activation of the remote.”
The dog, Luna, was allowed to remain on the property with the Burger’s other dogs.
However, on Oct. 3, 2024, a third incident occurred in which a woman cycling past the property was attacked by Luna.
Court heard a passerby beat Luna away with a baseball bat, and that the woman was treated for puncture wounds on her wrist and left leg that required stitches.
Four days later, a community meeting was held in which 70 residents attended to discuss the ongoing attacks.
On Oct. 10, 2024, Luna was seized and has been detained since, pending the recent court hearing.
The Burgers said that they had created an enclosure within their property and promised to keep Luna either in that enclosure, inside their home or on a leash.
Leven did not accept their argument.
“I have also considered, very importantly, the attitude of the Burgers here and things that they expressed not only to the animal control officers, but also to the people that were injured, and in court,” he wrote.
“Mrs. Burger, for example, describes the injuries suffered by these people as “minor injuries”; describes Luna, as “not dangerous”; uses terms such as Luna being “imprisoned”, and being “murdered”. These are all emotional terms that cause the court some concern. They show a minimization of the dangerousness that Luna has presented in the community. They also deflect the blame of what is happening to Luna from themselves onto others.
“This decision is about two things. This is about Luna and this is about Luna’s owners. The responsibility for the decision I make today is, first and foremost, with Luna’s owners who have had ample time to reflect the proper attitude and make sure that she is safely kept, and that the community is safe. This has simply not happened.”
Animal behaviour expert Dr. Rebecca Ledger conducted a behavioural assessment of Luna and noted the dog had been “teased and abused by people from the property which heightened her arousal and suspiciousness of people.”
Leven ruled that Luna was a dangerous dog, with reasonable grounds to conclude the dog is likely to kill or seriously injure a person. He ordered it to be euthanized within 14 days.
