A 67-year-old man who police say left his dog unattended in a vehicle in a parking lot on a hot day and confronted bystanders who gave the dog water — eventually hitting one with his vehicle — has been given several provincial tickets.
Around 1 p.m. Wednesday, Winnipeg police officers were called to a grocery store on Osborne Street, between Kylemore Avenue and Baltimore Road, with a report a large German shepherd dog had been left unattended in a vehicle there.
The vehicle was already gone when they got there, police said in a Friday news release. But their investigation determined a man had parked in the lot and went into the grocery store, leaving his dog in the vehicle, the release said.
Temperatures reached about 30 C, with a humidex of 43, on the day of the incident, police said.
Several bystanders were worried about the dog and gave it cold water through the vehicle’s slightly open window.
At one point, the man left the store to confront bystanders before returning to the store, police said.
When he came back to the vehicle, he was “belligerent” with bystanders. As he drove off, he struck a bystander with his vehicle, reversed into a parked pickup truck and sped off, according to police.
Officers identified the driver and went to a home in the Lord Roberts neighbourhood, where they found the German shepherd tied in the backyard.
The 67-year-old man received several tickets for provincial offences.
He was ticketed under Manitoba’s Animal Care Act for inflicting suffering, anxiety and distress on an animal; failing to ensure adequate source of food or water for an animal; and failing to provide an animal with reasonable protection from injurious heat or cold.
He was also ticketed under the Highway Traffic Act for driving carelessly, parking where prohibited and failing to exchange particulars.
A City of Winnipeg bylaw prohibits leaving pets in vehicles when the outside temperature is at or warmer than 22 C, unless the vehicle is running with working air conditioning.
The city advises anyone who sees a violation to take pictures of the vehicle, licence plate, and the animal, and contact 311.
The city also recommends contacting the Winnipeg Humane Society at 204-982-2020 or Winnipeg Police Service non-emergency at 204-986-6222 to get help for the animal, or calling 911 if the animal is in distress.