Minutes Confirmed on April 21, 2022

This meeting of the Dangerous Dog Review Tribunal was conducted by electronic means and the proceedings of the Dangerous Dog Review Tribunal were conducted publicly. 

These measures were necessary to comply with public health guidelines and prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Dangerous Dog Review Tribunal:

1. Confirmed the determination of a dangerous dog, and directed that the conditions of the order remain in effect, and that the Tribunal forward the reasons for this decision to Akbar Gulshan and the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards on or before April 2, 2022.

The Dangerous Dog Review Tribunal was presented with a Dangerous Dog Order appeal. The Tribunal considered oral and written arguments from the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, the Animal Care and Control Officer Jodi Savage, the Appellants Akbar Gulshan and Sandra Burdo, as well as Yves Rannou, who was a witness as well as being the partner of the injured party Igor Do Pau Brasil. The injured party did not appear.

The Tribunal determined that a dangerous act occurred and was committed by Romeo the dog in question. Further the Tribunal determined the Order, issued in accordance with the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 349, Section 15, was so issued in accordance with the by-law. The Tribunal concluded the dangerous act was the second dangerous act on record.

The Tribunal accepts the following evidence:

1. Romeo was tied to a chair in Mr. Gulshan’s basement store. Mr. Gulshan was on the phone with his wife, Sandra Burdo.
2. Romeo managed to free himself and ran out the open door to the sidewalk.
3. There was disagreement as to whether Romeo had his collar on or not.
4. Once on the sidewalk Romeo proceeded to run about 20 meters to where Mr. Rannou and Mr. Brasil were walking their dog Mel, a Jack Russel mix.  Mel was on a leash while Romeo was not.
5. Romeo tried to attack Mel. Mr. Brasil tried to protect Mel from Romeo but in doing so he sustained injuries severe enough to require paramedical attention including puncture wounds to his left arm and right hand. He also injured both his knees from falling to the ground. Mr. Rannou swung his jacket at Romeo to protect both  Mr. Brasil and Mel. Although Mr. Rannou fell, he was not injured. Mel was scared and shaking but did not sustain injuries that were severe enough to require veterinary treatment.
6. Mr. Gulshan came out of his basement store and took custody of Romeo. There was some disagreement on how long it took Mr. Gulshan to arrive at the scene. Mr. Rannou felt it was 3-5 minutes while Mr. Gulshan said it was within seconds.
7. Mr. Gulshan testified he felt Mr. Rannou’s actions provoked Romeo but the Tribunal determined that Mr. Rannou’s actions were in order to stop Romeo’s dangerous act. 
8. Paramedics were called and they treated Mr. Brasil at the scene. They felt he should get a proper medical assessment, but Mr. Brasil was reluctant to do so as he was concerned about the cost. Mr. Gulshan’s offer to pay for any necessary medical care was refused. The next day while still in pain, Mr. Brasil approached his family physician Dr. Colin Kovacs who agreed to assess him for no fee. He prescribed antibiotics and ordered an Xray and an ultrasound.  The results of both the Xray and ultrasound came back negative. Mr. Rannou and Mr. Brasil were advised not to take a trip they had planned to attend an out-of-town funeral that weekend.
9. In the time Mr. Gulshan interacted with Mr. Rannou there was a lot of yelling, shouting, and swearing, and while one paramedic attended to Mr. Basil, the other paramedic kept them apart.
10. Mr. Rannou asked the police to attend but he was told they would only come out if Animal Services felt it was necessary. Animal Services did not make the request so there was no police presence.
 

Based on the evidence and for the reasons above, the Tribunal unanimously confirms the determination of the Dangerous Dog Order.

Appeal of Dangerous Dog Order issued, August 10, 2021, Appeal DDRT2022-01.

The Dangerous Dog Review Tribunal:

1. Deferred consideration of Appeal DDRT2022-02 to its meeting on April 21, 2022 to allow for additional time for the appellant to review the video, as part of full disclosure of documents under file of DDRT2022-02.

Appeal of Dangerous Dog Order issued, July 19, 2021, Appeal DDRT2022-02.

Announcements

The Chair acknowledged that the Dangerous Dog Review Tribunal was meeting on the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. The Chair also acknowledged that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit.

The March 18, 2022 hearing of the Dangerous Dog Review Tribunal was conducted by the following panel members:

Rick Ross, Chair

Tracey Hamilton

Randy Yuen