A visiting American family was shocked to see a dog being shot with a handgun by a Canadian border official as they crossed into Canada during the Memorial Day weekend.

“I don’t know that the officer did anything wrong, but it was disturbing to my three-year-old twins,” said Hugh Pratt, of Puyallup, Wash., south of Seattle. “My wife and I struggled to understand why the shooting was necessary, particularly since the dog’s owner was standing right with the dog.”

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) confirms that the incident took place, but gave few details.

“We can confirm that there was a use of force incident involving a dog at the Osoyoos port of entry on May 25, 2015,” said Stefanie Wudel, a CBSA spokesperson in an emailed reply.

“The dog sustained a minor injury to the foot, was immediately transported by the CBSA to a local veterinarian, treated and released.”

All use of force incidents are reviewed to confirm that standards and procedures are followed, said Wudel.

Because the incident is under review, CBSA would not provide further information at this time, she said.

Pratt said his family had an uneventful crossing into Canada at the border checkpoint and was just pulling away when they saw a female officer in the garage area on the left with her handgun drawn in a firing stance and looking at the dog.

“I don’t know that the dog wasn’t attacking the officer, but we just heard a single shot,” said Pratt. “Then the dog immediately ran away, so it must not have been injured too badly.”

He and his wife Briana described it as a medium-sized dog, mostly white, resembling a boxer, but a bit beefier.

Briana said it was probably a mixed breed and she insisted that she has no indication it was a pit bull.

They said they did not see a leash attached to the dog.

“The dog was not tethered and it was not in a pen,” said Hugh. “I don’t remember seeing a leash hanging off the dog either.”

Briana said there was a kennel in the garage area with a large black dog inside. It appeared the dog that was shot approached the kennel.

A woman, who appeared to be the dog’s owner, was crying and unable to speak, Hugh said.

“She was pretty upset,” he said. “We saw the dog run in the direction of a big RV that was in the parking lot to her right and the woman ran over to it and that was the last we saw of them.”

The officer kept her gun out for about 10 more seconds, but didn’t fire again, Hugh said.

He was surprised that the officer treated this as such a dangerous event because he didn’t see aggression on the part of the dog, though he acknowledged that there might have been aggressive behaviour that he didn’t see.

The Pratt’s three-year-old twin boy and girl were sobbing when they saw the incident.

“We started talking them down and told them that it was a drill and they were just practicing,” he said. “We told them there was nothing wrong with the dog. That got them settled, so they were okay after that.”

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times