title Let's walk to Santos, The crowd aims to put pressure on the city of Charlemagne to save a dog from imminent fate.
Santos, a husky dog, bit a 5-year-old child in the face in Charlemagne in the summer of 2022. Subsequently, it was confiscated from its owner, Claudia Metaluna. The court ruled that Santos should be euthanized because he is dangerous. But to save him Mrs.
“As we see in Charlemagne, the dangerous dog law is very broad and municipalities can interpret it however they want. […] “The city could have asked him to wear a muzzle, but the city decided to remove him and lock him up in a pound for 19 months,” lamented Quebec actress Patricia Tulasne during the protest.
Meanwhile, Santos' owner still doesn't know where he is being held and hasn't had a chance to see him for weeks. She laments that the city prevents her from spending her last moments with him.
“I am not allowed to see him. It is not known where he is currently being held. […] Charlemagne presses me and threatens premature execution. Despite my possibility of appeal, I fear that my rights have been violated,” said Ms.
On February 23, the Quebec Court of Appeal rejected Ms. Matluna's appeal against her conviction for euthanizing her dog, Santos, following an accident.
“The court did not want to listen to our version or look at the evaluation of canine experts,” said Ms. “I am absolutely devastated by this decision. She is very strict.”
Demonstrators, like Santos' owner, are calling for the sentence, which has been described as particularly “unjust”, to be overturned and the dog's unprecedented return to his family.
“If we had to euthanize all dogs that bite, there would be no dogs in Quebec. […] We ask that Santos be returned to his owner, even under certain conditions. […] Because he is not an aggressive dog and he does not deserve the death penalty,” Ms Tulasne added during Saturday's meeting.
A second demonstration is planned for February 25 from 12 noon at Champ-de-Mars Park in Montreal.
