Another confrontation has erupted in Courtenay between a dog owner and a pair of seniors who threatened the animal with pepper spray, and now the RCMP are getting involved.
Brenda Cardinal said she was walking in the Northeast Woods area of Comox on Sunday, tossing a ball to her four-year-old dog Cayla, when she was confronted by two aggressive seniors, one of whom was armed with bear or pepper spray.
"I said to her at least three or four times, 'You're holding a weapon right now and you're pointing it at me,'" Cardinal told CTV News. "I said 'It's you two that are spraying the dogs, is it?' And then they started coming towards me and at that point I just, because of my condition, it just set me off."
Cardinal said her encounter was especially upsetting because Cayla helps her with therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder.
The former military technician had heard about dog owners having previous run-ins with a pair of seniors, including a November incident in which a nine-month-old Labrador retriever was pepper-sprayed in the face.
In that case, Liz Lyle-Mattson was walking her dog Buddy in the same wooded area when she said two seniors approached her aggressively before spraying Buddy. He suffered burning in his eyes and spent the rest of the day with his eyes closed, Lyle-Mattson said.
Talk of the seniors has been on the minds of many dog owners in the community for the past several weeks, and some have even put up posters in the area warning others about the couple.
"Be wary of these two people. They are the ones that will spray your dog and try to intimidate you," the posters read.
Police say they're looking into the latest complaint brought forth by Cardinal.
"People are very passionate about their pets and their pets' safety," said Comox Valley RCMP spokeswoman Const. Monika Terragni. "We do need to keep our pets safe by keeping them on a leash, and if something happens and you end up in a situation where people are aggressive, get out of that situation and take the time to call us so that we can follow up."
CTV's Gord Kurbis was able to track down the woman who threatened Cardinal's dog with pepper spray.
The woman said at 72 years of age and just 98 pounds, she's just trying to defend herself against approaching dogs.
She said the Town of Comox is not enforcing leash bylaws, and also admitted that she was the same person involved in the dog-spraying incident back in November.
In that case, the woman claimed the dog was running at her and growling, and said the potential to get knocked down by a large dog is a serious risk to her health.
Police are asking for everyone using the trails to remains calm, and the town said it will post more signage in the coming days.
Comox officials also said they expect to receive a report on a potential new, fenced-in dog park in January.
